According to pluggedin.com
Behavioral researchers say reality TV may alter our sense of emotional norms, making exaggerated reactions seem acceptable. Dr. Roderick Hart, a communication studies and government professor at the University of Texas-Austin, says, "People can be seduced into thinking [overreaction is] the most common way of reacting to life, when it's not. … Reality television has hyped all the emotions. You can't just be happy. You have to be ecstatic. You can't be upset. You have to be violently angry." Sarah Coyne, professor of family life at Brigham Young University, co-authored a recent study on media aggression and found that out of 120 hours of programming, an average of 52 acts of hostility (physical and verbal) are broadcast per hour on reality TV. Non-reality programming contained only 33 such incidents per hour. Coyne concludes, "[Programming is] producing this culture of being mean to each other," Coyne said. "We're setting up our culture to being overreactive." (The study was published in June's Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media.)
Reality TV Bad?? New Study Disturbing Results
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