Anybody watch "The Golden Bachelor" last night?
 

Senior dating at its finest!

I enjoyed the show and am recording it. https://abc.com/shows/the-golden-bachelor

What!!!

All reality TV is scripted, it’s making us simpleminded.

Lordy, who watches this stuff. So fake.

OP, I don’t know about this one’s specifics, but I do know I have strong opinions on what reality shows have helped to do to America — only a part of this hellscape we might not survive, but part of the mix, for sure.

Re. Reality shows in general:

Cringeworthy at best. Horrifying at worst.

But lots of people watch that stuff. That’s a problem.

The writers’ strike (the one before the current one) brought an onslaught of fake, crass, boorish, shallow, just plain stupid “entertainment” — and here we are, dumb and dumber and dumbest. Reality shows? Cause or Symptom? (Well, not the only cause, but a contributing factor for sure, one of them in particular.)

Here we are now, too many of us……..

Brains sucked out. (Check)

Amygdalae hijacked (Check)

Following reality show stars to the point of blind worship. (Check)

Adoration of those who do all the things we taught our children not to do. (Check)

Manipulated and Exploited. (Check)

Susceptible. (Check)

Forgotten dignity. (Check)

Fake is Truth and Truth is Fake. (Check)

And it has been so easy.

Boomer

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Addendum : Oh my! I should and must clarify that I wrote the post above when I woke up in
the middle of the night……

Just woke up again and realized it could be interpreted as saying the OP was dumb for watching “”The Golden Bachelor” —- sorry and no that was not it……..

I admit to being a little curious about that one. Might look once. Will see. But know I won’t stick around as a fan.

The thing I wrote, half-asleep, I stand by though — because I am mystified and terrified by the dumbing down of America. I love this country and I want it to be OK, forever.

Boomer, again

Facebook. Reality TV. Social media sites. All responsible for the dumming down of America. When you hear the actual number of people following these sites it is staggering, how does anything get done with so many people on social media. Oh yes, I'm on social media right now!

Look at the top left. Do what it says.

No!

I liked duck dynasty…:bigbow:

FB in it for the money. Who would think selling personal information with free site would make you billionaires? :oops:

The dumbing down these days starts in first grade. Much if not most of the public school system is failing. Here is an example sample.

"None of the students at 40% of Baltimore’s public high schools tested proficient on the state math exam given this past spring — with a staggering three-quarters earning the lowest possible score, an alarming report revealed this week."

From: Students at 40% of Baltimore high schools failed math proficiency exam

and - “Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds have hit their lowest scores in decades.” When the recent NAEP long-term trend results for 13-year-olds were published, the reactions were predictable: short pieces in the national press and apologetics in education blogs. COVID-19, we were told, was continuing to cast its long shadow. Despite nearly $200 billion in emergency federal spending on K-12 schooling, students are doing worse than a decade ago, and lower-performing students are today less capable of doing math than they were 35 years ago. -

From: America’s Education System Is a Mess, and It’s Students Who Are Paying the Price – The 74

While I agree social media has recently played a part SAT scores peaked in the mid 1960s, decades before social media arrived. They have been slipping downhill ever since. Notoriously, the test has been dumbed down.

Since I watch little television I was trying to recall what reality shows I ever watched. "This Old House", "Antiques Roadshow", "American Pickers", "Pawn Stars" and "Botched" came to mind. I tried watching "The Real Housewives of Orange County" maybe twice as I knew people who knew some of them but could not get into it. "Storage Wars" were faked as I know that business.

Here is a list of reality shows past and present: List of reality television programs - Wikipedia

Not only that, but I refuse to watch these shows that are degrading to the institution of marriage. Bachelor, Bachelorette, 90 Day Fiance, and who can forget Who wants to marry a millionaire.
And we wonder why so few take marriage seriously anymore.

Tonight is the night for the second Golden Bachelor episode. Got my DVR warmed up and ready to record!

You have surprised me yet again.