Reality television shows, which composed at least 20 percent of the prime-time schedule during the February sweeps period, have grown “qualitatively and quantitatively coarser” than their scripted counterparts, according to a new study by the Parents Television Council (PTC).
Researchers examined the first four episodes of 29 network reality series broadcast from June 2002 to August 2003 and found 1,135 instances of foul language, 492 instances of sex — either visual act or verbal reference — and 30 instances of violence for an average of 14.5 instances of offensive content per hour.
The results, which came from the examination of 114.5 hours of programming, indicate a 52.6 percent overall increase from a similar PTC study in October 2002.
The current study, released June 25, said there was an average of 3.5 more instances per hour of sex and foul language on reality series than on scripted series, something that PTC warns should concern parents. The study examined such programs as “Big Brother,” “Survivor” and “Meet My Folks.””
Influence on children
“If children are influenced by behaviors they see modeled by actors and actresses on scripted programs — and there’s ample research to show they are common sense — dictates they will be equally influenced by behaviors they see modeled by real people on unscripted programs,” the study said.
“Networks need to be held accountable for the dangerous and irresponsible messages they are communicating to young fans of the reality genre,” it said.
Among the findings:
- The amount of bleeped profanities per hour has increased by 273 percent since the 2002 study. Verbal sexual references were also more frequent, increasing from 0.9 instances per hour to 3.31 instances per hour, an increase of 373 percent since 2002.
- A specific obscenity for male/female relations was the most commonly used profanity on broadcast reality programs, the study found. The word was bleeped 199 times, though the audience could easily decipher it.
- Nudity was the second most frequent type of sexual content on reality television, and PTC counted 16 instances of sexual activity on reality programs during its study.
- Although the use of foul language and sexual content dramatically increased since 2002, the total violence per hour on reality shows decreased by 285 percent.
- Reality shows airing on the WB and UPN networks contained the highest levels of offensive content, with 25.4 and 24.2 instances of offensive content per hour, respectively, the study said.
- The two worst broadcast reality shows overall were CBS’ “Big Brother 4” and WB’s “The Surreal Life.” (Baptist Press)
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