Is Reality TV Turning Your Daughter Into A Mean Girl?
Monday, October 24, 2011 at 10:20AM
Kim KardashianIf your pre-teen daughter's heroes are MTV's Teen Moms, Gloria Govan, Snooki and Kim Kardashian you may be raising a little monster (or a little future leader -- it's kind of a toss-up). A new study by Girl Scouts of America's research institute has found a correlation between bad behavior and too much reality TV.
According to the study, girls exposed to reality TV were more prone to hold negative behavior as "normal" for girls. In the survey 68 percent for the reality watchers felt "cattiness" was the norm for most girls compared to 50 percent among non-watchers. Seventy-three percent of watchers felt the shows made fighting a normal part of a relationship and 70 percent felt reality shows demonstrated that it was OK to treat people badly.
Also:
Gossiping? The reality watchers thought that was a "normal" activity for all girls at a rate of 78 percent versus 54 percent for the non-reality watchers.
Looks? Reality watchers were more focused on their appearance by 72 percent compared to 40 percent of non-viewers.
Lying? Thirty-seven percent felt you had to lie to get what you want, compared to 24 percent of non-watchers.
But the study wasn't all bad news. Seems if you watch reality TV you may actually have a more positive attitude about your worth, leadership abilities, and personal value. Reality watchers also credited the shows with exposing them to ideas, beliefs and cultures they otherwise wouldn't have known about, and that the shows have inspired important conversations between girls and their families.
To read more of the study's results, click here.
While it's easy to dismiss television's affect on our daily lives, the truth is it's hard to ignore and avoid the imagines men and women are bombarded with daily about how women should look and behave. Often, it seems the only message women get is they should be anything but themselves and the key to happiness, a job, and a trip to the alter is a bizarre mix of formulaic changes and trickery. There are even significant differences in thoughts on beauty and women's bodies between people my age (in their mid-30s) and our 20-something peers, where tweezing, waxing and ripping every bit of body hair is now the norm and the definition of beauty has become something completely unrealistic.
In this era of competitive sexuality and looks, sexual double standards and Madonna-whore contradictions, I often tell my friends that burden of this confusing time will be our unfortunate cross to carry. It will be tough for us the daughters of Baby Boomers, caught in the middle of a cultural shift, navigating this mess until it mellows out. Meaning, our daughters and sons will probably have a better go of dating and mating than we had since we're still negotiating what the new rules are for men and women in a society striving towards gender equality.
In the meantime, perhaps parents could refashion reality shows as "morality tales" for young girls of what not to do. Like this sage observation from Basketball Wives LA recapper M.T. Wiseman:
And here it is girls. All you ninth graders who may be feeling a little awkward because you get good grades, speak the king’s English and you’re not a member of the popular clique? And you wonder what it’d be like just for one day, to be one of the cool girls who get invited to parties and date the star athletes. This is it, Boo. This is where they end up. Sitting in a barbeque joint, wearing a pound of makeup and arguing over the same silly things they were arguing about in ninth grade. Stay in school.
Or, of course. You could always turn the TV off and suggest that your daughter go play outside, take up a sport or hobby, or read a book.
Reader Comments (1)
"Meaning, our daughters and sons will probably have a better go of dating and mating than we had since we're still negotiating what the new rules are for men and women in a society striving towards gender equality."
This is the new trend as the era of freedom in many aspects of social life due to global awareness between equality of men and women is expanding. What parents need to do is to support their sons and daughters in whatever decisions they may take and be always there when they need them most.