Can Your Favorite Reality Show Make You Drink More Alcohol?

The winter season of reality television has begun, and whether you choose to enjoy a beverage with the cast of "Love Is Blind" while they struggle to date in a room the size of an oversized closet or watch the latest gaggle of "The Bachelor" contestants struggle to keep their eyes open through yet another eternal rose ceremony, alcohol appears to be key to survival in the world of reality television.

Years of research on addiction have clearly shown us that there is a strong genetic connection in family members of alcoholics. But in addition to our genetic makeup, can what we watch on television increase our likelihood of developing a substance abuse disorder?

Who Watches Reality Television?

With so many reality television shows to choose from, it may seem like everyone watches some form of a reality show.

But diehard fans of the reality television genre are likely to have certain personality characteristics in common.

A 2004 study by Reiss and Wiltz found that reality show fans are more likely to be easily motivated by their own self-importance, to be more outgoing, and to view themselves as having more freedom than the average person when it comes to society's more stringent moral beliefs. It almost sounds like the average reality television fan views themselves as a potential reality show villain.

Reality television viewers also feel more self-assured and more romantic than the average person. Interestingly, these individuals consider themselves to be more romantic than their peers and have fewer social interactions than others.

Viewers also cling to the belief that the highly edited footage that they watch on their favorite shows is genuine and largely unedited (Papacharissi and Mendelson, 2007).

Boozy Behavior by Example

In 2009, scientists in the Netherlands and Canada randomly assigned 80 college males ages 18 to 29 years to one of four groups. Half of the volunteers watched Movie A (in which alcohol was heavily portrayed), while the other half watched Movie B (in which no alcohol was present).

Half of the viewers of Movie A and Movie B were shown commercials that included several advertisements for alcohol, while the other half of the viewers of both films were shown commercials with no mention of alcohol.

The results were quite clear: The group that saw the movie with a large amount of drinking and viewed commercials that prominently featured alcohol drank twice as much as those who viewed a movie with little to no alcohol usage and saw commercials with no alcohol present.

Is your addiction to reality television getting more complicated?

Source: Cottonbro/Pexels

And what about younger reality television viewers, such as the tweens or teens that may be exposed to a parent or older sibling's television preferences?

A large amount of research has pointed to the finding that when it comes to tobacco and alcohol use there appears to be an exposure-response relationship, such that the more exposure an individual has, the more likely they are to try tobacco and/or alcohol themselves. Repeated exposure to frequent drinking may also subconsciously reinforce the idea that consuming large amounts of alcohol in social situations is the norm, rather than something disturbing and dangerous.

Moreover, the earlier an individual samples or experiments with their substance of choice, the more likely they are to latch on to this behavior and adopt it as their own.

The influence of reality television exposure isn't limited to drugs and alcohol, either. A 2018 study of 320 undergraduate students between 18 to 25 years of age found that greater exposure to reality television correlated not only with more concerning patterns of problematic drinking but also with more frequent sexual behavior while high or drunk.

What Can We Do Now?

Reality television has been around for so long that the majority of adults are unlikely to remember a time when it wasn't "normal" to watch unscripted television. For younger adults and teenagers, it is as unfathomable to think of a time before reality television as it is to imagine a time when you had to wait an entire week to see the next episode in a series, rather than simply streaming an entire season.

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Is it too late to reverse the damage caused by constant exposure to alcohol, drugs, and sexual behavior? The science behind addictive behavior is relatively optimistic, especially if you remember to HALT.

HALT is an acronym that stands for hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. These four emotions can be easily mistaken by your brain as triggers that precede a relapse of sobriety, as well as trigger feelings of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

How can we use this information to work in our favor?

The next time you have a desire to pour yourself a glass of wine and drink along with the "Real Housewives," or make a fancy cocktail for you and your roommate as you binge the latest episode purge of "Love Is Blind," ask yourself how you're really feeling.

Are you hungry for food, but it feels more socially acceptable to have a drink? Are you tired or angry after a long day of work, but don't feel like burdening your friend or partner with the difficulties of your day? Or is it possible you're feeling lonely, and, like so many of us out there, you have bought into the idea that alcohol will bring you closer to other people?

Take a pause before you pour yourself that drink and remember that there are better ways to connect with people in real life.