Boys and Girls alone

Boys and Girls Alone
Is reality TV for kids? Where is the line between fair reality and cruel displays of innocent people? And who is the actual victims, us or the participants? Boys and Girls Alone is a reality show broadcasted on Channel 4 in February 2009, and it has raised a lot of ethical questions and moral issues from concerned experts. With TV broadcasters that are free to edit their footage, and with viewers who watch reality-TV just to catch a break and turn off their brains for a few minutes, it might not always be completely ethical. But on the other hand many participants in this show feel that their participations have been a great experience, and behind the screens the viewers are really enjoying these shows. Reality has gained a lot of popularity lately, so why is there a problem?
Boys and Girls Alone has received some discontented letters from concerned experts, and also some answers from educated people who cannot see the issues on the show. Andrew Mackenzie is Head of factual entertainment on Channel 4 and he sees no reason why Channel 4’s new show should be considered unethical, and states that “Reality television show on children did not pose a hazard to their welfare”. Mackenzie assures that the children’s well-being was the top priority during the whole program, the children were at all times being watched by both chaperones and their parents. A parent could at all times talk to their child, and even pull them out of the show if they felt that it had gone too far. Mackenzie states that the children not was in a protected environment, but was also before the casting screened and tested to make sure that they could cope with the whole experience.
Doctor Richard House is a Psychotherapy lecturer at Roehampton University, and has answered Mr Mackenzie’s attempt to calm down the critics. But the doctor is not pleased with the latest development in reality. He states, that Boys and Girls Alone is child cruelty and has no place in research or TV. A child does not according to the doctor have the ability to tell the difference between ethical and unethical in these situations, where they’re blinded by the spotlight. He also states that no human being to ensure the safety of a child, because you never know what is going on in their minds, they might break down mentally in front of the camera. The Doctor is sure that it is nearly impossible to “scan” a child to see if they can actually cope with being on a reality show, because you never know how children will react in situations you don’t usually see kids in. He calls this whole program “a grotesque social experiment conducted on child guinea-pigs who were in no position to give their informed consent”.
Another letter comes from mother who has let her child participate in this show, a 44 year old woman named Audrey let her 11 year old son TJ Scott take part of the show. She states the whole program as “an amazing and positive experience”, she was able to watch her son at all times. And she was surprised how much of a leader he became, and although he was threatened by a knife from one of the other participants, she felt that bringing her son on the show was a great experience. And her son behaviour made her very proud of him, she states that she was right to put TJ on TV.
A blog from The Guardian’s website written by James Donaghy is very negative towards the recent development in reality-TV. He is especially confronting the viewers, who he thinks is way too uncritical towards what they are actually watching. He makes us aware that “Every stupidity they (the participants) act out is fair game to be edited, taken out of context by the broadcasters and replayed on any number of TV’s most Embarrassing Bastard shows”. This means that whatever we watch could be altered, so that we are forced to believe, whatever the broadcasters wants us to believe.
He brings attention to one of the Boys and Girls Alone participants called Lorna, before the show she was getting bullied at school for her hair colour. She fell straight back in her role as the victim of the group and ended up getting picked on by the other girls, which can’t exactly be very positive in Lorna’s building of character. And not only Lorna had issues, all the children were forming cliques, they found victims and harassed them. James Danoghy thinks that not only the children are victims but also the viewers, we might think that we are safe and completely normal just sitting in front of the TV. But when the rates go up on these shows, it inspires the channels to create more shows like that. An Arranged marriage Reality-Show is apparently on its way, and James Donaghy claims that this show will simply be too much of an ethical crisis. Causing the evil circle to go on, as we keep watching.

But is it Appropriate to make children appear on reality-TV, it seems that no matter how much these children are under surveillance and being taken care off. They still manage to form groups and harass each other, maybe they are just not ready to handle the attention they get from these shows. You will never know just how exactly children are thinking in these situations, and you cannot take the parents words for it. Giorgina Reid’s letter from interviewing one of the participants mothers, can only show us her experience. I see the option for letting children appear on reality-shows as a really bad idea after looking at these letters, but I do not think I can come up with a total conclusion without hearing from the most reliable and true source. Which are the children themselves, their opinions are really missing in this case. Therefore it is inconclusive.