Reality TV shows are everywhere. We’ve all seen at least one episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians or The Bachelor or some other dramatic reality TV show.

A lot of these shows are about relationships and romance. Most people realize these are all exaggerated in almost every way. However, some reality TV shows are close enough to the real world that people subconsciously take in those messages and think that it’s true reality.

Often, people become so invested in these shows they begin to think that is what actual reality is. However, your life and the life of the people on that screen are very different. The editors frequently change what’s going on just by cutting stuff out or adding stuff in out of context. There is so much added drama in those TV romances that it’s not even close to reality.

Love stories have been a huge hit in the entertainment business for centuries. They’re older than Shakespeare’s tragic Romeo and Juliet story. This being the case, directors and writers have had to make the relationships just that much more dramatic and intense to make people keep watching and paying attention.

Research shows people who watch reality TV dating shows are more likely to think of dating as a game according to Pacific Standard. This isn’t a good way to think about dating if you actually want a relationship. If you start it out thinking that it’s just for funsies, it’s probably not going to go anywhere.

Shows like The Bachelorette tell women that men should fight and try hard to impress them. Then when a man in real life tries to impress these women, it’s not nearly as remarkable as the men on The Bachelorette because they don’t have near unlimited funds like a television show does.

This leads to unrealistic expectations that do not allow these ladies to go for a normal guy. This causes a lot of issues in the modern dating world and even sometimes in marriage.

To counteract these struggles of how reality TV shapes our views, there are a few important things to remember. Be aware of what you’re watching. Don’t let these shows change how you think of the world, how you think of others or how you think of dating. Reign in your thoughts that your date must plan some crazy extravagant date like they might have on The Bachelorette. Be content with your actual reality.

Jill Morton is opinion writer for Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected]