The ethical issues involved in reality television, as presented by the author, deal with the viewer's motivation for watching such type of programming. If the viewer's motivation is to watch people humiliate themselves, then the author feels that the viewer is morally wrong for doing so.
A person's entertainment should not be through someone else's televised suffering. The fact that reality television producers show no remorse for accidents or humiliation caused by their shows fuels the idea that almost everything that has to do with reality television is morally unethical. Another viewpoint of the author that makes reality TV so demeaning is that most of the so-called "real" moments and characters in these shows are scripted or edited to the producers liking, which makes it anything but real.
My ethical views on reality TV differ from the author's views in many ways. I do think that reality TV is unethical to the point where the show's producers are making tons of money off of the humiliation and suffering of others.
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Reality TelevisionWhen someone is crying on such a show as "The Real World" eyes are glued to the set to see why, when it is really no one else's business. However, the producers make sure to show every sobbing moment, because they know that more viewers will stay tuned to the channel and more advertising dollars will come rolling on in. On the other hand, I do not think that anyone who watches reality TV should have their ethics in question because they do not really know what goes on behind the scenes. They do not realize the immoral concepts of the shows, and therefore, it could be called innocence through ignorance.
There is really nothing that can be done about this type of programming. It has already gripped the attention...