Reality Television Love...What Are These Contestants Thinking?!

Reality Television Love...What are These Contestants Thinking?!

Marriage, it's supposed to be a once in a lifetime event right? The answer to that is surprisingly no! Today it seems that the media pokes fun of this wonderful occasion in the ever so popular reality T.V. show weddings. They are everywhere today. Many of these marriages don't last much longer than the show was aired anyway. The contestant chooses a lifetime partner from a group of twenty or so other "contestants" to miraculously fall in love with. But can this be true love? Marriage should not be rushed in this way, because it usually comes along in a normal life setting. What are these television savvy people thinking? I do not believe that the media should use the sacred act of marriage as entertainment, people on these shows are looking for love for the wrong reasons, divorce rates today are through the roof, and generally all the contestants really want is to "get their face out there", to become famous.

Many times these people aren't even sure what they are looking for or even what they are doing on such a show. On programs such as The Bachelor, Joe Millionaire, and Married by America the contestants are set out to search for their one true love. But how do they know if one of these lucky men or women is right for them? The answer is hard to tell. The show, even though aired for weeks at a time, isn't even as long as it appears. Each episode is different days put into one episode and it is hard to tell exactly how long they really have been there. In all reality the contestants are only acquainted for about a months time and BAM, they are up at the alter saying their "I Do's", in their to-die-for wedding apparel. I don't know about you but I have defiantly gone through life with a crush or two for about a month that I thought at the time I could marry and be with forever, but after a while I thought to myself, what was I thinking! This is exactly how many of these couples feel soon after their wedding. Then out of nowhere there is yet another divorce. Some may disagree and say that there have been many love stories with happy endings that were very fast and sudden, and they have turned out fine. I understand that, but this still shouldn't be encouraged through television. Some may argue that back in history women didn't even get to pick their spouses, and that it was also a quick act. That however was custom. Now it's just plain not normal. Many women back then never would have even thought of getting a divorce either, the word was practically unheard of. So what makes all of this okay?

Divorce is a term that everyone knows. Whether it was your parents or a friend's parents, we are all connected to a divorce somehow. Matthew D. Bramlett Ph. D. and William D Mosher Ph. D. of the Division of Vital Statistics state that divorce is so common today that nearly 50% of all marriages fail. Maybe this is why the risk of getting married on a reality television show is so low. They can simply just file for a divorce. This is all just plain wrong values. People shouldn't just dive into love hoping that this "stranger" they just met will be their lifetime partner. Some others disagree and state that all split up marriages are completely normal, and that it is now the 21st century and we need to try a new way of getting couples together regardless of whether they divorce or not. Many feel that this also happens outside of these shows. That there are young loves (and old ones too) that think that they have found the person of their dreams, but everything just goes wrong after the marriage and then yet another divorce is filed. Since it also happens outside of T.V., then sure, some may think, go ahead and put something like this on television for all of the world to view. It's almost as if the producers want to make a joke out of falling in love. These reality television shows just seem to promote it as if it's okay. I believe that rushing into marriage is too risky and can lead to a disastrous divorce.

Many of these contestants are only on these shows because they just want to get their face out in the media. Hoping that their acting/singing/whatever it is they want to do will be noticed by the big time agents. This is one of the easiest ways to get out there. A local channel with your face on it each week for a while can defiantly attract people that want to see you. Most of the women on the show know that their chances of winning are slim so why not do something for fun. Hence, if they do win/get