How the MTV Real World Desensitizes its Viewers to Alcoholism, Promiscuity, and Bad Stereotypes

Admit it, sometimes you stay up late and watch re-runs of The Real World on MTV.If you're like me, a 20-something trying to live in the real world after college, this show has been on MTV for the majority of your life and was the source of information on the lives of real people. The Real World made its first appearance on MTV in 1992 and has remained the longest running program on the channel. Its premise was and still remains fairly simple - 7 strangers in their 20s are put into house and their every move is caught on tape. The opening sequence of every episode promises that the show documents what happens "when people stop being polite, and start getting real". It was a fresh idea in the days before the popularity of other reality shows like Survivor or Big Brother. The show even had the potential to create awareness for real issues; roommate Pedro Zamora of the 1994 season in San Francisco was one of the first openly gay men to be living with AIDS to be presented on tv. The Real World had the opportunity to expose the true lives of its participants. Viewers could see the relationships of the roommates, their trials as people, and the bonds of their friendship. Unfortunately, 13 years after Pedro Zamora was helping to expose the realities of AIDS, The Real World depicts a distorted view of 'reality' that teaches its young generation of viewers to find only satisfaction in alcohol, sex, and selfishness.