The Specific Life Crisis You’re Probably Going Through, Based On The Reality TV Show You Can’t Stop Watching
For fans of "Love Is Blind," and "Selling Sunset," there might be more to your obsession than you realize.
Kaboompics.com | Pexels While some people think that reality TV is overproduced drivel, there are equally as many fans, if not more. If you like to watch a slice of real-life drama when it comes to entertainment, there might be more to your preferences than you realize. Shows like "Love Is Blind," "Love Island," and even the "The Real Housewives" franchise might tap into the different emotional needs that a person is going through, at least according to content creator Tawny Platis.
In a TikTok video, Platis dissected some of the most popular reality TV shows and connected them to potential life crises that viewers could be experiencing. Turns out, your choice in shows might just be a glimpse into your own real-life drama.
Your favorite reality show could indicate the life crisis you're currently going through:
"The reason you're obsessed with that reality show you're watching right now is because you're going through a very specific quarter or midlife crisis," Platis began in her video.
She explained that if you're watching "Love Island," then you're probably someone who is having an intimacy crisis. The U.S. version of the popular dating show franchise just wrapped up its Seventh Season, and it accrued a legion of new fans who, according to Platis, may be struggling with their own relationships. She said that's why they are so wrapped up in contestants lives.
If you're someone who's obsessed with Hulu's reality TV show "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," then you might be in the middle of a people-pleasing crisis. You've exhausted yourself trying to be perfect, so watching people, in this case, a bunch of young Mormon wives, be messy and create drama in their own lives, reassures you that everything is unsustainable.
Fans of 'Love Is Blind' and 'Selling Sunset' may be dealing with commitment and anxiety issues.
"Love Is Blind" fans might be struggling with a form of decision-making paralysis. Platis explained, "Watching people make enormous commitments based on pure instinct feels exhilarating, liberating, and slightly nauseating. Which are also all the same words that people use to describe why they enjoy roller-coasters, so who am I to judge you?"
For fans of "Selling Sunset," Platis hypothesized that they might be experiencing an "achievement and status anxiety crisis," meaning that they feel like they haven't accomplished enough, so instead, they enjoy watching people with more money than they possibly need still make mistakes and make bad decisions. And finally, if you love "The Great British Bake-Off," it means you might be suffering from a "kindness starvation crisis."
You're someone who is so used to toxic environments that watching people being genuinely nice feels like an actual medical treatment, according to Platis. She pointed out that the fact you're able to treat basic human decency like it's rare says a lot more about what you've been surviving than what you actually deserve.
Fans should never feel ashamed of their preference for reality TV.
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Reality TV shows can sometimes get a bad rap, but these shows are, in fact, a great representation of the human experience and the dynamics that can exist between people, even if the drama is slightly fabricated.
"Reality shows are ironically named because they are often far from realistic scenarios. Even though these programs are guilty pleasures for so many, we can use them as good conversation starters with friends and as food for thought within our own minds as we consider our values and how to live in ways that demonstrate those values," pointed out psychology professor Teyhou Smyth.
At the end of the day, you might be surprised how many lessons you can learn from shows like "Love Island" or "The Real Housewives," and that means instead of questioning someone's preferences, you should give them a shot. You never know, you might just get hooked yourself.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
