Cause and effect....reality tv

Although watching Survivor is a guilty pleasure, I am not a fan of most reality shows. On occasion, I do also catch The Amazing Race, but Survivor is one I try to catch every week. Actually, it was better in the earlier episodes, as there seemed to be a lot more innocence and reality rather than the current "social experiment" being played by one of this season's participants. But, I digress. The early popularity of one or two shows has seemed to generate what I would term a "monster". It seems like almost daily, there is a new "reality show" to watch, and frankly, from the commercials I see, I have no interest in watching them. Real Housewives of Atlanta? Please...There are several others whose names I don't even recall, but it seems to me that the explosion of reality TV has caused many in society to go off the deep end. This is purely opinion, but....people seem to be acting out and behaving more outrageously than ever in hopes of getting their "15 minutes of fame" or getting their chance to be on a reality show. And it is truly amazing to me to see (particularly on Survivor, since that what I watch most often) the bizarre things that people will do for a shot at a million dollars. Which brings up another point... Even if someone wins the "million dollars", how much do they really get? Uncle Sam has to get his take, so I'm guessing winners only get 50-60% of that so-called million dollars. Granted, they'll probably get lots of other perks, if you can call them that, by participating in the morning news and talk show circuits with several all-expenses-paid trips, but is that really worth what it takes to win? In my opinion, no. But, sometimes when I'm watching, I'll think to myself, 'wow, that's an amazing place to go', or 'I wish I could...' and I think that's part of the reason that people watch these types of shows so much. They can make us think about ourselves and what we would be willing to do for money.... But, money isn't everything. The love and support of family far outweighs all the money in the world. But, that's just my opinion.