Senior Amy Burgauer said she watches ABC's "The Bachelorette" every week with her parents. They also watch "Star Search" on the same network.
"They're funny and we just want to see what will happen," Burgauer said.
Burgauer is just one of many students that take part in the television phenomenon known as reality TV.
Nielsen charts, studies conducted by Nielsen Media Research, show reality television shows' ratings skyrocketing in comparison with traditional programs. Viewership of new series on ABC is down 20 percent, but up to 158 percent with reality programming, an article from USA Today said.
For the week of Feb. 3 through Feb . 9, Fox's "American Idol-Tuesday" ranked ninth out of 21 on the Nielsen chart.
But with the seemingly boundless popularity of reality television and the endless stream of new programs, it is necessary to understand that only a fraction of the country's total population actually watches television, much less reality TV, said Dom Caristi, associate professor of telecommunications.
Out of a total United States population of about 280 million, about 105.5 million households have a television, a Nielsen chart said.
When "American Idol-Tuesday" received a rating of 12 percent, for example, that means that 12 percent of the American population that has televisions were watching that show, Caristi said.
"So when you say (reality shows) are popular, they are, but it's not
like all of America is watching," Caristi said.
Burgauer said she has her own explanation for reality TV's popularity.
"You can relate someone on the show to yourself," she said. "When you're watching a soap opera or a sitcom you can't relate as well to them as you can to someone on reality TV. They're real people who were found on the street."
Senior Mike Zick said he thinks that the element of surprise is another big factor.
"People love drama," Zick said. "They (TV characters) are put in this greenhouse situation where it's all planned, but the people's reactions are real."
Reality TV isn't exactly new, though, Caristi said.
MTV's "The Real World" and its other unscripted shows have been around for almost 10 years, Caristi said.
"Talk shows are another form of reality TV," said Melinda Messineo, assistant professor of sociology. "Cops" is another program that follows the reality TV scheme, Messineo said.
The elements that have made these shows succeed have stayed the same, Caristi said.
"Students are attracted to the uncertainty of what will happen next," Caristi said. "You're really not certain how the show will turn out."
Reality TV also has an unpolished nature that holds appeal for viewers, he said.
"You see people in a natural environment and think, 'What would I do in that situation?'"
With reality TV, viewers can put themselves into a character's role more easily than that of a sitcom character, Caristi said.
"It's real, but it's still escapist," Messineo said. "It tends to give a skewed view of what's really going on. It's a misrepresentation (of life) and some people could be misled by this."
Reality television also satisfies a basic human desire to socialize with others, Messineo said.
"Humans try to make sense of their environment, and it resonates with the individual," she said. "They feel a more immediate connection (with reality TV characters)."
But television networks don't seem to care why people are watching. They just care that people are tuning in, Caristi said.
Networks love reality TV because it's cheap and easy to produce, he said.
For example, "ER" costs NBC about $13 million per episode to produce, Caristi said. For a reality show, it costs NBC less than $1 million.
Another factor that costs networks less is they don't have to pay actors, directors and writers like they would for a regular television show, Caristi said.
"They're not paying talented people," he said. "They're all happy just for airtime," Caristi said.
Another reason networks have fallen in love with reality TV, Caristi said, is because of the free marketing of their shows.
"It's event television," Caristi said. "It's the buzz. Columnists are writing about reality TV, talk shows try to get people on their shows, and they'll even talk about you on other networks."
"It's free advertising."
Both Caristi and Messineo, however, believe that reality television's popularity may not remain as strong with viewers in the future.
"The trend will continue, but it will change," Messineo said. "Some people's response might be you can go too far."
"Besides, some of life is just mundane," she said.
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