Lots of people joke about reality TV being the end of civilization, and many of them are us, but we weren't really worried. Until we found out what scientists were saying. Hard data and scientific papers spell out exactly how reality television is undoing civilized society, aka "the thing that keeps us from killing and eating each other for fun ." People Watch Reality TV For Horrifying Reasons "Why People Watch Reality TV" Professor Steven Reiss, Dr. James Wiltz Ohio State University Media Psychology, 6, 363-378 (2004) For years, scientists have been trying to answer the question, "Why do people watch reality TV?" -- a question that was revised to "WHYYYYY? Oh my God, why are they doing this?" sometime around the premiere ofA Shot at Love With Tila Tequila . There had better be a damn good reason for this. The early money in academic circles was on voyeurism . Watching strangers interact with one another on TV seemed to appeal to humanity...