Reality television has become all the rage in today’s modern society. With shows like Jersey Shore, Survivor and TLC’s newest edition, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, fans all over are tuning in every week. The hot question asked by many is whether or not shows like these are in fact ruining television.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, a twist off of the show Toddlers and Tiaras, has become a viewer favorite with it’s loveable characters such as Sugar Bear, Pumpkin, and of course, Alana aka Honey Boo Boo herself. The storyline behind this hit new reality show involves anything but the typical ‘modern family’ of today’s society. The show is based around a self proclaimed ‘redneck family’ and their outlook on life and how it’s meant to be lived. This controversial television show has been in the headlines of almost every fan-based magazine possible this past month. Is this family trying to hard to get the world to ‘reneck-onize’? Has reality television gone too far?

Network television, a multi-billion dollar industry, has, without a doubt, a large impact on today’s ‘modern family’.  No longer do you see families sitting down watching the news every night after dinner. Instead, television sets are running “twenty- four seven” throughout households with shows like Big Brother and The Real World. In order to fully take a side on whether or not I personally believe that reality T.V. is ‘ruining’ television, I contemplated what the true goal for television is in the first place.

Television shows are designed to find a fan base through captivating means. Whether this be a serious note, such as KDKA news, or an informative note, such as The Discovery Channel, in the end, an audience is drawn. It is beyond evident that reality shows do indeed grasp their regular viewers. With that being said, reality television shows are doing exactly what producers of hit broadcast stations intend on having them do. They draw in a wide viewer group through means of appealing to their wants.

Reality television accounts for a large chunk of that multi-billion dollar industry which therefore proves that producers are doing something right by airing shows such as, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.