The 'Mash Up' Culture

Teens Use Technology To Mix, Match And Create Their Spheres

(CBS) 
Reality Television

Though teens' musical horizons have expanded with the proliferation of cheap downloading, television-viewing has become narrower in some respects. The number of channels may have increased dramatically, but reality TV dominates the teen market, and MTV still reigns supreme.

For those who don't know it, the 25-year-old cable station and pop cultural standard-bearer is now "music television" in name only. A glance at MTV's scheduled programming for June 2 is revealing. After a spate of music videos in the early-morning hours, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., there was a total of only 30 minutes of music-oriented programming scheduled for the rest of the day and night: "Total Request Live," which is shot at MTV's headquarters in Times Square.

The rest of the schedule was devoted to shows like "The Real World," "Cheyenne" and "The Hills," all of which belong to the reality TV genre.

According to Todd Needham, who has worked in the creative side of reality programming for a decade, that isn't likely to change any time soon.

"I definitely don't see reality going away," Needham told CBSNews.com. "I think the good [reality shows] will stay and have sticking power."

Peter, 18, said that he enjoys reality TV but seemed somewhat embarrassed by that admission, an indicator that the genre has entered the realm of a guilty pleasure in some circles. But there are several subcategories within the reality TV genre, and he professes to be particularly interested in reality game shows.

"I like the ones where people leave each week, so it's the mystery of what's going to happen," he said.

According to Needham, another source of reality's appeal has to do with its intrinsically human dimension.

"In reality, you can kind of identify with characters and say 'Wow, I would have done this, I would have done that, why did they say this?'" he said. "It's easier then, I think, to connect with a lot of different personalities."

But for all of its mass appeal, not every teen is onboard the reality bandwagon.

"I think it's really fake," Andrew, 18, told CBSNews.com. "It's full of a lot of, like, demeaning, useless information."