Social Workers Speak » Wahington Post http://www.socialworkersspeak.org NASW Communications Network - Social Workers speak out on television, movies and other media Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:08:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Media Watch Question: Should Reality TV Shows Have A Code of Standards for Participants? http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media/media-watch-question-should-reality-shows-have-standards-for-participants.html http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/media/media-watch-question-should-reality-shows-have-standards-for-participants.html#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:33:56 +0000 GWright http://www.socialworkersspeak.org/?p=1164 The Salahis. Photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

The Salahis. Photo courtesy of the Washington Post.

Reality shows sometimes attract unstable, flamboyant folks. Just take the latest case of Virginia couple Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who crashed a White House state dinner in hopes of getting parts on Bravo TV’s proposed “Real Housewives of D.C.”

National Association of Social Workers member and psychologist Jamie Huysman said in a Dec. 1  Washington Post article that reality shows can exploit “psychologically damaged” people.

Huysman ought to know. He has treated patients recovering from the mental fallout of appearing on such shows.

Which leads to today’s question:

Q: Huysman says reality shows should adopt a code of standards to deal with what happens to participants before, during and after they appear before camera. Advertisers and viewers should also boycott offensive programming. Do you agree? And do you think television networks would adopt standards and the public would tune out bad reality shows?

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