Are Reality Series Proving to be Detrimental to America's Youth?
Tune into MTV and chances are you will get a glimpse of the reality series: Jersey Shore. It is a show about a group of Italian-Americans living together under one roof. The series was meant to show the audience the lighter side of the lives of Italian-Americans but it has garnered much controversy due to the cast's often use of expletives and their penchant for frivolous behavior which has embarrassed most Italian-Americans in the US.
The show, like most reality series, follow the cast wherever they go and showcases to the audience whatever they do. The cast often attends parties wherein most of the female cast-members end up inebriated and unable to walk. One episode even saw one of the members of the cast urinating behind a bar because she was too drunk or lazy to go to the toilet. If they're not getting drunk they're trying to find someone to have sex with which is often the case with the male members of the cast. Almost every episode finds the male members of the show cavorting with female strangers, if not with their fellow female cast-members, enticing them to have sex with them.
The antics of the show's cast-members have garnered much criticism from the Italian-Americans and the larger population. Some have deemed the show to be too crass and racy. It also has a tendency to flaunt the stereotypes of 'Guidos' much to the dismay of some of their fellow Italian-Americans. Most Italian-Americans have criticized the show because of the depiction of

their race which has nothing better to do than to party and have sex.
The show garnered more criticisms when it began airing in Italy. Roberto Del Bove, who is a columnist for a newspaper in Rome, spoke against the show saying that it showed the worst stereotypes of Italian people. He further condemned the show along with other columnists in Italy.
Some people have spoken out against this show due to its lack of finesse and its lack of moral fiber that might be detrimental to many American teenagers and children. Most people find it disturbing that the show celebrates the cast-members lack of inhibition and preference for reckless behavior.
There are other shows on television that seem to embody the same kind of recklessness that the Jersey Shore displays. The Bad Girls Club showcases young women who are constantly embroiled in minor misdemeanors or public altercation. Although the show's producers state that the show is just entertainment constant display of reckless behavior by these women might encourage women of the same age to act like them as well.
The theme of the show 16 and pregnant is pretty self-explanatory and although it could have been a useful venue to educate young women about unwanted pregnancies the show seems to be more focused on glorifying teen pregnancies.
Reality Series such as these might not have a direct influence on a person's behavior. But then again constant production of shows like these might send a message to the younger people that reckless behavior is something to be glorified.