It is that time of the quarter again, when pressure begins to mount from approaching due dates.
After constantly having your nose buried in a book or glued to the computer, brief, pleasant diversion is not necessarily a bad thing.
You could say that a guilty pleasure is another way to word “pleasant diversion.” So, when it comes to guilty pleasures, other than, perhaps, tabloid magazines or video games, reality TV has to be king.
There is so much reality TV on television that there is something for everyone. Whether you like “The Real World,” “The Bachelor,” “Survivor,”
“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” or “Jersey Shore,” you are sure to be amused — or disgusted, but at least comfortably numb.
These various shows all follow around a bunch of nobodies that we make into somebodies, because we are more interested in watching them live their lives than going out and living our own lives. But hey, sometimes you just need to go a little mindless — and what is better for tuning out than watching the lives of seven strangers, living together in one house, who “stop being polite and start getting real?”
If you are hypnotized by the love genre, there are several shows focused on helping one find love in a rather bizarre way. The absurdity of the idea that one will find lasting love on a show where one person picks from a pool of people, while on a group date, on camera, must be why these shows continue to draw high ratings season after season.
Sometimes we just need to be transported to another world to escape the stress of responsibilities. Imagining being on an exotic island on the other side of the world competing to win $1 million, or living the beautiful, rich and famous life of Hollywood, is something we all dream about from time to time. Why not just get lost in the staged reality of another person’s life to temporarily forget about the demands of this or that class?
I mean, after GTL, what is better than watching a group of chiseled Guido’s and Guidettes fist-pump the night away in between their late night hook-ups and constant bickering? This type of TV can be viewed as completely repulsive, or absolutely amusing. One thing is for sure: It is not exactly reality, and although it can be a little embarrassing to admit you partake in this entertainment, it will certainly take your mind off that looming research paper.
