By now articles saying reality TV is the downfall of Western civilization are as redundant as they are true, but there’s a phenomenon few people mention when talking about reality TV. The entire premise of the genre is that a seemingly unqualified bum off the street can rise to great heights—I pointed out that this now applies to politics in the form of The Tea Party a few editorials back—with no training, education, and in some cases talent.
It’s populist bullshit made to make people at home feel like they’re just one modeling gig/singing audition/break dancing move away from superstardom. You can watch at home, think that it literally could be you, and feel more invested in “real” people (although most reality shows have such phony cheese balls as contestants, they don’t remind me of anyone I actually know) than you would fictional characters…living vicariously if you will. But what if people keep living vicariously after the show is over?
Right now, in any given elementary school in the country are kids that have wildly ambitious expectations of what they’ll be making—salary wise—when they grow up. That’s nothing new. What is new is that the same feeling is shared by high school students, college students, and even people in the workforce. All across the country we are told American students aren’t in the top 25 in Science or Math academically or even tops in English or Reading. The only area they rank first in is confidence.
And why shouldn’t they? On any given cable network right now is some dumbass that can barely put two sentences together but is just obnoxious enough to be a reality TV star worth millions. No one would accuse the Kardashian sisters, the Real Housewives of Narnia, the Jersey Shore kids, or any cable reality show contestant ever of being on the shortlist for a Noble Prize in Economics, but they are millionaires all the same. So it’s no wonder kids today aren’t concerned if they can barely read, write, or do basic math. From the example they’ve picked up from reality television they still think they’ll be able to collect dollars even if they can’t count them.
People might say “What’s your alternative? Crushing kid’s dreams?” But it isn’t kids anymore. Young adults have never been less invested in their chosen professions…mostly because they too believe they’re just one or two deals away from retiring at 30. The rebuttal from people would still be “Well, what’s wrong with that? Who does thinking big hurt?”
The problem is that if you are a teacher or firefighter or cop, but you don’t think you’ll be one in twenty years—even if you most likely will be—you aren’t fully invested in protecting your retirement and benefits that are under attack from the GOP. “Oh, they’re busting up my union? Who cares? I’m going to be the next supermodel, so I don’t really think this affects me.”
Same thing for social security and medicare which young people think they’ll be too busy being rich to ever have to need. We can win the fight against politicians taking away these programs. But only if everyone shows up…and not just if American Idol doesn’t pan out.
Too true. Why go to school when all you need is a camcorder and the internet to get paid. i.e. Rebecca Black. Seriously people in a are in trouble!