We may think that most of the television we watch just drifts through and out of our minds, but recent research has shown that people's behaviour is markedly affected by what they watch. The so-called Great Parenting Experiment looked at how parents who were having a tough time responded to watching a programme called Driving Mum and Dad Mad. The startling result was that watching television could significantly change their perception of their situation. In a third of cases, they felt their children had moved from being a problem to being "normal". If reality television can affect viewers so strongly, then what direction is the rest of it pushing us in?
The sort of reality television that is about changing yourself picks up all sorts of themes - getting a job, buying a house, learning a new skill, and becoming better parents. But there is a subset of those programmes, aimed at women, that focuses on a back-to-the-50s template of etiquette and self-presentation. Can we have a Great Backlash Experiment, please, which would measure the extent of a woman's loss of faith in liberation every time she switches on Make Me a Supermodel, or Perfect Housewife, or Asbo Teen to Beauty Queen?
To continue reading click here.
