As you know doubt have read over my past few posts, we've just had an amazing amount of girl drama this year. We are not alone. The eighth grade as well as the sixth grade report mass amounts of girl drama as well. It's almost as if a damn has broke and we're just flooded with girls gossiping, arguing, threatening, fighting and just generally acting like a bunch of horrid little brats.
It really takes the fun out of everything, truth be told. But there's always hope. We did have one nice day this week when our main instigator was absent and all the girls were, surprisingly, well mannered and actually kind of nice. But she came back the next day to stir the pot and life was hell again.
So, I'm on the telephone the other night talking to my cousin who lives in Colorado. We call about every other week or so and chat and catch up on what's going on and all that sort of thing. Like me, she doesn't have any kids of her own, but she's the favorite aunt for her sister's three children so she does have some kid experience. I began to tell her about all the girl drama we were having and she commiserated. And then she said something that had never, ever occurred to me.
"Did you ever wonder if all this increase in girl drama is a result of too much reality TV? I mean after all, that's all it is, a bunch of grown women running around fighting with each other and acting horrible."
Oh. My. Gosh. I think she may be on to something here. I have NEVER watched a reality television show. EVER. (They hold absolutely not interest for me. None at all. I teach middle school, why would I want to subject myself to the same bad behavior but this time in adults?) Although I've never seen one of these shows, I've seen enough advertisements for them to realize that they seem to have a bunch of grown ups acting like children. Badly behaved children.
It's often been said that kids model what they see. Well, if all our kids are doing is watching sitcoms where people are rude to each other and reality television where they fight and argue with each other all the time, is it any wonder they act like this themselves?
Counting the days...one and a half to go.
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4 comments:
I really think you are on to something. We have had more than our usual amount of girl drama too. They absolutely horrible to each other!
I've dealt with girls like your main instigator before- I call them "drama vampires," because they like to stir things up and feed on the drama of others. You can't drive a stake through their hearts, but if you can remove/isolate them, it does help.
I don't know if it's reality TV that's causing the spike in drama- maybe it's an increase in drama in society being reflected on TV. Maybe it's a vicious cycle.
Gah. Blogger just ate my comment!! :-(
It's been happening for a long time, and it's not just reality TV. Look at older shows like Home Improvement, and newer shows like Glee (which, incidentally, I really enjoy, but I'm an adult and know what's appropriate and what's not.) There's just so MUCH of it out there that there's no real filter on it, and with stuff on-demand, kids see that and not anything with positive teen role models. And parents don't watch with their kids and have the discussions about what's appropriate and what's not. Drama is fostered. Explosive reactions are the norm. Parents are supposed to be lied to, and on TV, if there are consequences, they generally aren't severe. Kids talk back to all authority figures without virtually any repercussions whatsoever... in fact, the adults generally yell back at the kids and behave inappropriately. I know it's supposed to be funny, but even older teens will emulate what they see on TV, even unwittingly.
I know I'm a total old fart, but I hate it. I don't blame the shows, I blame the parents for not monitoring their kids and having uncomfortable discussions about what's appropriate and what's not.
Kari, excellent points!
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