Curious, voyeur or just fun? Why The Big Brother Reality Show Is So Addictive

In period costume, military training or farm life, THE reality show took the screens Chileans since the early 2000s. And the fever does not stop, because a few weeks ago Big Brother premiered on Chilevisión, where 18 people have to live together in a house, isolated from the rest of the world.

However, the new program has a peculiarity, which is that, for the first time in history, the spectator is his own director : You no longer have to wait for the evening show to see what is happening in the house, you can watch the contestants 24/7, from any device, at any time. Yes, even when they are sleeping.

But what does Big Brother have that makes it so addicting? How healthy is it to watch a reality show, especially if it can be watched all day? Can this negatively influence the viewer?

Specialists from different fields spoke with The third decipher the mystery behind a percentage of the population who spend hours watching 18 strangers.

—In reality TV, there is the unexpected. Anything can happen, since there are no scripts—Rodrigo Larraín, sociologist and academic at the Central University, begins to explain to The third .

The expert believes that the characters in this type of program are “heroes like all of us”, because they are not actors or musical or sports idols who have spent a long time reaching the position in which they find themselves. SO, it is easier for a person to feel represented by one of the participants and to Thus, want to follow his story.

Sebastián González, film critic and academic at the Faculty of Communication of the Universidad de los Andes, also agrees with the above, who, in conversation with LT added that Curiosity is also part of the equation when it comes to wanting to see a reality show.

— Basically, the reality show plays with the false illusion that anyone can be on TV, anyone can be a star for leaving the reality show — González points out.

“There’s always a bit of curiosity, to know what’s going to happen. It has to do with cahuín (gossip), people are interested in it. For this reason, being able to see people locked up 24/7, seeing their daily and nightly activities, attracts attention.

Also, in the case of Big Brother, Chilevisión opted for multiplatform content. It is the viewer does not have to wait until 10:30 p.m. and turn on the television to find out what happened at home and with your favorite participant.

In exchangeyou can see everything they do, without filters and as if you were another protagonist (through pluto tv ) from any device and location of your choice.

—Being able to watch this program all the time is well suited to an audience connected all day to social networks. It is the unexpected that can happen and of which I am a direct witness. I have “first-hand knowledge” and can share it early with my contacts. A kind of “press stunt” – explains the sociologist Larraín.

From psychology, Carolina Masson, a psycho-oncologist at the Universidad de Los Andes, explains that reality TV shows can generate the desire to form a world to which we do not belong.

— It makes us think about what we would or would not do in situations, how we would react to certain experiences. If I start to bond with a reality TV character, I internalize myself into their life. I’m starting to understand and worry about what he’s going through”, confides the specialist to LT .

In this line, the specialist ensures that the emotions or perception of young people or adults who watch these programs could be affected. Masson illustrates that if a person who is in reality does not conform to “my system of values ​​​​or beliefs”, it is very likely that the rejection, resistance and certain behaviors of this participant generate states of anxiety, d anxiety and irritability.

– There, basically, you have to ask yourself what I like in these reality shows and what they cause me. Is the content really something that calms me down? Does it help me? Or does it really bother me?

González, for his part, argues that, living in a time when there is a lot of tension due to the conflicts in Europe and the economic crisis in the world, Watching lighter content like a reality show can have a positive effect on “relaxing and getting out of the ordinary”.

And it is that there are usually very emotional situations that, although some can be positive and fun, others have a more negative charge, such as the discussions, fights and tears that abound in the stories of the protagonists .

In this way, The psychologist explains that, although not all people react in the same way when they see external problematic situations, there are some who receive a very strong emotional impact and that they are not able to consume this type of content.

—Some people may go through super complex situations and want to watch a reality show for entertainment, but they will find problems that put them back in their stressful state.

In addition, Masson identifies that there are viewers who need to watch reality all the time, due to an emotional situation: there are those who may have an anxiety disorder and need to know what is going on. , and also more obsessive and controlling people.

—The recommendation is that people use the platforms at appropriate times, that they are limited and that there are spaces for conversation. It’s something positive, talking about the situations that occur and generating different points of view to have a debate and not stay with only one perspective of what happens in a reality show. Generate a vision of analysis, critical thinking and reflection.