When TV Makes Harm Look Normal: Why We Keep Watching

The Ethics of Reality TV: Deception, Conflict, and What We NormalizeHost Leslie Poston examines the ethical and psychological costs of reality and reality-adjacent TV that relies on deception or engineered conflict, arguing the key issue is whether harm is built into a show’s format rather than whether it is scripted. Using Jury Duty as an example of compromised informed consent and Survivor as an example of formats that reward manipulation, humiliation, and betrayal, she asks what it does to participants and to audiences when cruelty is reframed as “gameplay.” She discusses contestant harms (disorientation, stress, surveillance, reputational damage through editing, and minimal compensation) and viewer effects (social learning, desensitization, parasocial attachment, and moral distancing). She contrasts Squid Game as an explicit critique of exploitation and argues profit, contracts, and aftercare do not equal ethical permission, calling for standards centered on consent, dignity, and psychological safety.VOTE HERE UNTIL APRIL 30th!00:00 Reality TV Ethics01:47 Harm Built In03:41 Deception and Consent06:12 Survivor and Cruelty08:18 Contestant Fallout10:57 How Viewers Change13:19 Culture and Squid Game15:11 Profit Over People16:21 Better Standards18:00 Closing and Callouts ★ Support this podcast ★