57% believe reality TV has finally gone too far profiting off people’s pain

NEW YORK — Does every single private and painful moment in a person’s life need to be put on television? It seems many Americans have finally had enough. Three in five Americans believe reality TV has gone too far, according to new research. 

A new survey of 2,000 respondents examined people’s current perceptions of reality TV. The results showed that many feel unscripted programs take too many liberties when it comes to making money off of participants’ traumatic moments. Respondents were also asked whether they felt reality TV had taken participants’ personal pain too far in entertainment — and a little more than half (57%) believe it has.

The survey, conducted by Talker Research, comes after the controversial Bachelorette season 21 finale in which star Jenn Tran was forced to re-watch her engagement breakup on live TV. The episode saw fan backlash on social media, with online conversations questioning the ethics surrounding the network’s decision to air the incident. 

The survey results show that over half of Americans (56%) surveyed believe reality TV producers should be held accountable for the mental health of their show’s participants. Nearly half of millennials surveyed (46%) said they are reconsidering watching the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, with 45% saying the Jenn Tran incident made them reflect on the reality TV they consume.

“Viewers are sympathetic to reality show participants,” says Dr. Carole Lieberman, a psychiatrist-consultant for reality TV, in a statement. “But would they watch such shows if they were all warm and fuzzy as compared to the ones that put participants in the most humiliating situations?”

Lieberman adds that in addition to viewers changing their minds on what they consider entertainment, other improvements should be made.

“A good start would be to provide crisis aftercare for the participants in their hometown, instead of quickly shoving them off the set and into cars taking them to the airport,” Lieberman says.

“Reality show contestant contracts basically say that the production company isn’t responsible for anything that goes wrong, anything the participant didn’t expect, or any damages to their reputation or to their life. But, it says this in veiled language while holding out the promise of fame and fortune as a carrot,” Dr. Lieberman explains when asked what additional policy changes she would like to see to protect reality TV participants.

“Reality shows should do more to evaluate the prospective participant’s mental health. Some shows have a psychiatrist-consultant, but the majority do not.”