Soap operas, sports and action-packed television shows use to be the main stable in most homes as far as television programs, but reality has slowly taken over.

Celebrities, in the past were known to be those with talent, such as actors or professional athletes, but now anyone who appears on TV can be a celebrity.

A new obsession with watching celebrities has formed, or even regular people, just living their lives in front of the camera. Why does the public find such shows so entertaining?

Reality TV has its own channel and network on the air filled with “unscripted” shows and real life stories. Some are hidden camera shows and others are television shows where cameras follow celebrities or chosen people around.

Watching the Kardashian family go through their daily life and troubles is suddenly more entertaining than actual news and scripted dramas.

“Jersey Shore,” is another hit reality show on MTV. The show consists of seven people from Jersey in one home together. The reality show involves fights, drama, sex and partying.

The cast members who were selected for “Jersey Shore,” are now celebrities and making another season.

Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag also, have reached celebrity status after their airing on The Hills. Although people like to criticize the couple, the ratings continued to rise during this reality craze.

Many reality shows are simply these “celebrities” going through the same daily routines as you or I, but the public seems to find watching other people deal with problems and drama entertaining.

The Tiger Woods escapade is another example of the changing interest in America. Woods has sexual relations with multiple women, and he suddenly becomes more interesting than the president and national news-except when the national news is about Tiger.

News used to be what the public needed to know, but it has slowly changed into what the public wants to know. Is this a good trend? Yes and no.

This could be good because it takes people’s minds off the bad things going on in society with crime and the economy. It gives the public something else to temporarily focus on.

A negative is the public misses things that need to be known. A national crisis should rank higher than what Heidi Montag is having plastic surgery on next.

Is this reality and celebrity fixation just a phase, or is this going to be the future of society?

Abby Allgire can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].