This thesis examines how college freshmen relate to the personalities and content on MTV reality programs. Drawing from current theories about how viewers relate to television such as realism perceptions, identification, wishful identification, and parasocial interaction, this project looks takes a qualitative approach to understanding the particular relationships that exist between young viewers and the content and young casts of MTV reality programs.
Eight college freshmen at a Midwestern university were interviewed about their perceptions of MTV reality programs, particularly Real World, Laguna Beach and The Hills. Additionally, a survey of 78 students was conducted in an introductory telecommunications course. It was found that judgments about the realism were based primarily on the students’ use of comparisons with their own lives and experiences. Additionally, knowledge of production processes played a role in realism perceptions. It was also found that students engaged in parasocial interaction and used reality television to learn about the world. Real life experiences, however, were shown to override learning from television.