e339. Why Do Smart People Like Trashy Reality Shows?

Do you watch reality shows? No really. You can admit it. We won’t tell. We want to let you in on a secret. We actually watch some. In fact, we watch a bunch of them. And like… we’re smart! in fact, being smart is sort of the entire point of this show. And yet, we watch some of the admittedly most mindnumpingly dumbest TV shows possible. Regularly! On this episode Mav and Monica are joined by returning guest, psychologist Stephanie Siler to talk about reality shows and why anyone likes them anyway. Or at least why we do. We examine the manipulative nature of reality TV production, the psychology of why we might enjoy watching it even if we think it’s bad, and the role of exhibitionism and voyeurism in these programs. Do you agree with us? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Citations and Links: * “Why We Can’t Stop Watching ‘The Real Housewives’” by Melanie Greenberg * “The Smartest Person You Know Watches Reality TV” by John Sundholm * “It’s Time to Start Taking Reality TV More Seriously” by Julia Joy * “Ranking the Success of TV Dating Shows: ‘Bachelor,’ ‘Married at First Sight’ & More” by Dan Clarendon * Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme * Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick * Follow Monica on Instagram: @monicamarvelous * Follow us on Twitter: @voxpopcast * Follow us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/voxpopcast * Subscribe to our YouTube channel * Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever podcasts are found and please leave us a review!