Can reality shows affect your personality? In my opinion, yes they can, but it depends on the circumstances. Something can only affect you if you allow it. The only way a person can be affected is if they’re surrounded by that environment.

If a person surrounds themselves with that type of entertainment 24/7, of course they will be affected. Viewing the behavior and attitudes of the people on TV can make you unknowingly change.

Then other times people may change on purpose. These are celebrities we’re talking about. These are people that we look up to. We look to them for fashion advice. We look to them for makeup tips. We look to them for slang.

So surrounding ourselves with this kind of entertainment can make us want to change. Instead of being ourselves, we feel as if this is what we should be.

For example, look at “America’s Next Top Model.” This show is about a group of potential models battling for the spot of America’s Next Top Model.

When you see these girls, the first thing you notice is that they’re all very skinny and tall, which is why today everybody wants to be skinny. We have people starving themselves and throwing up food, becoming anorexic because of trying to fit in and following in the footsteps of the girls on TV.

From reality shows today we pick up a lot, and it’s not just the reality shows but also the people in them. I admit I once was affected by this, not by a reality show but by a commercial. My idol, Taylor Swift, was promoting Keds, so I went out and stocked up on Keds. Even though the Keds were really cute, the main reason for buying them was because I saw Swift wearing them.

This is usually how brands promote their clothes. Companies know many people are in love with the “Kim Kardashian Show” or “Love & Hip Hop,” so they get the cast to wear some of their brands. Sure enough, tons of people go buying those brands.

Because of these reality shows, we’ve also picked up bad attitudes and bad habits. These shows can control us in a way. This is true because some feel as if they have to change their entire personality to fit the world’s status of “cool,” when really we should all be ourselves because nobody was made with the same brain or personality.

We’re all different, and we were made like this for a reason. Let’s embrace our originality and creativeness.

Just be you, because nobody can be you better than you.