Nickole Caballero

ENC 1101

Ms.Humphries

January 19, 2015

The Influence Television Has On People

TV is a very popular form of entertainment for people from all over the United

States. According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., “Americans spend 250 billion hours watching

Television annually.” This is a very high statistic for the American people. Keeping Up

With The Kardashians is an American reality television show series that focuses and

revolves around the lives of the Kardashian’s and the Jenner families. These families

were born in the upper class system of the United States and they do not know any other

type of lifestyle. The words “struggle” and “no” do not exist in their vocabulary.

Although the show is American based, people from all around the world are tuning in to

this so called “amazing and intriguing” show. With the United States being one of the

most diverse and prestigious countries in the world, people from other parts of the world

look up to the Americans. Despite the close-knit relationship between one another, this

“reality” television show portrays the wrong idea to viewers from all over the world of a

typical American family. This very well-known sitcom is spiraling up with success with

its ratings. This show is not only aired in the United States but also in other countries

from around the world. Many people look up to this family and want to be just like them.

The viewers are getting a wrong perspective of the typical American family. What is

escaping from them is that this show is not at all realistic to any extent. People from other

countries who watch the show get the idea that every American acts and thinks the same

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way as the Kardashians. This is giving bad reputations to many innocent Americans.

Young viewers feel the need that being like the Kardashians is the best way to be, and

they are wrong! This show is also setting a horrible example to many young adults who

watch it. Viewers believe the best way to be happy in life is to live like the Kardashians,

but this view is definitely flawed.

When I was in middle school, this television show was THE show to watch. If

you did not watch this show you were considered an outcast. This show significantly

changed my life to the extent where my future was only defined by their actions. If I

didn’t become like the Kardashians, was there any purpose of living? I would sit during

lunch and look around me watching all of my friends get sucked into this sitcom that

seems to have given our town life. At first, I just wanted to fit in and not be the outcast

from my friend group. Coincidently, I got caught up in the moment and found myself

starting to imitate everything they do. According to a study called the Chameleon effect

done by Chartrand and Bargh, “This effect is the natural tendency to imitate another

person’s speech inflections and physical expressions.”

Eventually, I let myself get sucked into the world of the Kardashians! I was young

and naïve; I thought they were my idols, my heroes. Although this family is very snobby

and caught up in nothing but the materialistic way of life, the Kardashian/Jenner family is

a very loving and close family. There are many people around the world who are born

without parents or only have a single parent to raise them. The Kardashians/Jenners are a

very close-knit family that does everything together. In that aspect, they exemplify the

ideal American family. They exemplify a strong family bond, which should permeate

through everybody in the world. For example, every summer, the Kardashians/Jenners

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take a family vacation. Even though they travel to exotic countries, which a typical

American family most likely cannot afford, the purpose is for their bond to grow and

expand. They are always trying to be there for each other in the good and the bad times.

This shows the connectedness and togetherness that they have developed between each

other. Many people might not see the good side of the Kardashians. But the only thing

that the typical American Family and the Kardashians have in common is that during

disastrous times, we will always stick together. Their way of being with family made me

want to spend that much more time with my loved ones and go on spontaneous vacations

with my family. After one of the episodes, I immediately ran into my parent’s room and

gave them a huge hug. I realized that they are the best people in my life and I have to

cherish every single moment with them.

Another amazing aspect I saw from the Kardashians show was their

amazing work ethic. One morning I came to school and everybody was talking about the

Kardashian Brand. I was confused as to what it was. I have not recently caught up with

the most recent Kardashain episode, which I thankfully recorded on my television to

watch on a later time. I sat down with my bowl of ice cream and was so eager to start the

show especially when I could skip through the commercials! The Kardashians mentioned

that they had recently opened a branch of stores called “Dash”. I got really excited

because they said one of the stores was going to open next to my hometown! Back at

school everyone could not stop talking about how wonderful the clothing line was. I got

very inspired by them. On the show, they mentioned how heavily criticized they were by

Americans and how everyone was doubting their business abilities. That did not stop

them from pursuing their goals of opening a chain of stores. Their management skills and

successful marketing techniques have proven to the public how successful you can be

when you set your mind to it. They started from the bottom and just continued to build on

the empire and will continue to expand in the future. This inspired me to be able to take

on anything and to not let others influence my decisions. People will always try to put

you down but you always have to keep pushing through and who knows, you might end

up becoming the next Kardashian. Aside from the business aspect of their lives, the

Kardashians exemplify through their show strong independence and confidence, both

personally and professionally. It is very inspiring to girls from all around America that

you can be anything you want to be as long as you work hard for it.

As time went on, my interests in television show genres drastically shifted. I went

through a stage in my life learning good and bad things. In the end, I got more bad things

out of the Kardashian show and it taught me many valuable lessons. The next phase of

my life was to watch more shows that had more meaning and knowledge to it. One of my

favorite television channels was Animal Planet. This show inspired me in many different

ways. In this stage of my life, I did hit a couple of rough patches but for some reason, as

soon as I would watch Animal Planet I would feel like everything is right again. Every

weekend my friends and I would gather around the television and would always

particularly watch Steve Irwin. He influenced us to be the better version of ourselves and

it was pretty incredible. His ability to take risks and put his life on the line was just

indescribable. His actions made my friends and I realize that we should live life like there

is no tomorrow. We need to take advantage of every situation because you never know

what is going to happen in the future. I have turned into a mature woman over the years

and have come to terms with those shows that I used to watch in the past. I have come to

realize that these shows were irrelevant to my life. They would just give false

expectations to little girls and their futures that lie ahead of them.

In the end, my television experience has definitely been a rollercoaster. From

starting at one end of the spectrum to the other, I have always ended up seeing the good

and the bad sides of the television world. From realizing the materialistic nature on which

many American families live to being inspired by the close family ties that bind the

average American family. I have come to terms with my own life and I plan to pursue my

own dreams always learning from my past, living my present to the fullest, and planning

my future using my internal moral compass for guidance and love. I have learned many

things about myself throughout my wonderful life that I will cherish forever and I cannot

wait to live my future and never stop learning!

Works Cited

"Chameleon Effect." The and Chartrand & Bargh Experiments. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 06 July 2014.

Herr, Norman. "Television." Television. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.

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