If you ask most people about
reality television, chances are
they hate it. Some may go so far as to rant about how reality TV is
ruining our country, poisoning our minds and destroying American culture and
entertainment as we know it. But the
truth is, deep down, we all indulge in reality TV. And many of us have trouble
imagining our lives without its simple pleasures.

So what exactly is it that makes reality TV so enjoyably
addictive? From top chefs to top models, reality TV offers something wonderful
for all of us no matter how diverse our interests may be. Here are just a few
of the reasons why we love it so very much:

1. Reality TV introduces us to wildly ridiculous and
hilarious characters that we would probably never associate with in real life.

Sure, scripted television shows are full of funny, quirky,
interesting people, but what makes reality TV stars so much more lovably
humorous is the fact that these people actually exist. In life, most of us
probably wouldn’t have anything to do with superficial, glamorous teen beauty
queens who would rather die by eating disorder than give up on their dreams of
becoming models.

We likely don’t have many friends who are desperate enough
to humiliate themselves on trashy MTV dating shows with their best friends or —
better yet — their parents. And sadly, most of us aren’t even blessed with the
privilege of associating with ridiculously spoiled, overly dramatic rich kids,
who, as we all know, have much harder lives than the rest of us.

Fortunately, with reality TV, these characters become our
best friends and our worst enemies. We can get as involved in their
insecurities, competitiveness and drama as we’d like without actually having to
deal with them 24 hours a day. This brings me to my next reason for loving
reality TV.

2. We’re really bored with our own lives.

Let’s face it: we all love to pretend that our lives are
incredibly exciting, but sometimes, our day-to-day college experiences seem to
lack the flavor that only reality TV can provide. With our favorite programs,
we can live vicariously through the exciting lives of affluent Beverly Hills
residents or travel the world in search of clues and fabulous prizes. I guess
that beats writing papers, matching socks or rearranging our rock collections
to avoid studying for midterms.

3. We love the talent (or lack-there-of).

Watching average people sing, dance, rap, tell jokes, cook
or generally make fools out of themselves is definitely entertaining. When
contestants do have talent, these shows can be intriguing, and even inspiring,
to the average Joes that wish to some day experience those 15 minutes of fame.
When contestants frankly have no talent, it’s equally enjoyable to laugh at how
embarrassingly pitiful they are, and then make ourselves feel better about our
own lack of talent.

4. On some level, we can all relate to people on reality TV.

Even if we don’t demean ourselves by looking for love in
unconventional places like TV dating shows, we’ve all probably felt like we
would do anything for love. And maybe we don’t live fabulous lives in ritzy
southern California mansions, but even the wealthy reality TV stars have issues
with their parents and drama with their significant other or best friends.

And seriously, who of us out there doesn’t have goals or
dreams that we haven’t worked hard to achieve? Maybe not everyone wants to
become America’s Next Top Model, but perhaps there’s a little bit of that Top
Model ambition in each one of us.

No matter what draws us into the guilty pleasure of reality
TV, one thing is for sure: It’s not going anywhere anytime soon.

So for all of those who haven’t hopped on the band wagon
yet: there’s really no reason to fight the urge any longer — go ahead and buy
the latest season of American Idol and prepare a cozy spot on your couch,
because chances are, you’ll be spending some quality time with your remote
control as long as we have reality TV to protect us from the harsh realities of
our own mundane lives.