Is reality TV exploitation?

I'm writing this from the point of view of someone who has done reality television in the past and someone who never watches it and actually can't stand it.  Obviously that means this blog will have conflicting views but I'll start from talking about it from the point of view of someone who has done it.

I first went on reality TV when I was 18, that was 10 years ago.  I went on it thinking it would be my shortcut to stardom and that it would give me an edge over people who hadn't been on it.  I'm not going to go into the specifics of that experience but it led to some unresolved issues so I did another reality show a year later.  The first show hadn't been a mistake, but the second one was.  You may think you're going on for you, but you're not, you're actually a pawn in the producers' game, that game is to humiliate some people and give others a break.  Unfortunately I fell into the former category and even though it was 10 years ago people still think of me as the 18 year old.

When you go on a reality television show it's a snap shot of you at a particular moment in time, so even if it's ten years since that happened, you're still going to be thought of as the 18 year old. 

Then there's social media, people love to comment about people on social media so you're open to abuse, and sometimes that abuse never ends.  Sometimes people think that because of something you did ten years ago (and reality TV is not illegal) you're that same person ten years later.

There have been numerous articles over the years, becoming more common, about reality TV stars not being able to go back to a normal life and get normal jobs.  The fact they've done reality TV is held against them.  Then there are the complications that come for the person who has done reality TV.  Because they're thought of in a different way they have trouble adjusting after the reality TV.  I think it's because you get close to a goal you've had for years.

This is adults we're talking about her, but now reality TV for children is becoming common.  There are shows like, "The Voice Kids" broadcast in Australia.  Tonight News.com.au has run a story about a contestant who was upset at not being selected.  Her parents defended the decision to allow her to go onto the show.

When adults can't deal with reality TV,  it is hardly fair to put kids through the same process.  Tully Smyth, a contestant from Australia's 2013 series of Big Brother told of her struggles with adjusting to normal life after participating in Big Brother. 

Reality TV has actually gone too far, and it's time people stopped watching it and thought about the consequences for some people who do participate in it, and it's often not until you've been on reality TV that you realise how harmful it is.  First thing's first, The Voice Kids needs to be axed.