Why Survivor Is Still On The Air

December 4, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Reality TV show survivor first aired when Bill Clinton was still in office. More than a decade later the show still draws large audiences. David Shultz tried to understand why:

  • A psychologist found that those who enjoy reality TV are motivated by status and vengeance.
  • In the case of Survivor, the status part comes from watching ordinary people suddenly become elevated.
  • Survivor also requires people to work with and against one another for an ultimate victor to emerge. This is where vengeance comes in.
  • The popularity of this social strategy game is driven in part by Survivor seeming more authentic than most other “reality” TV.
  • Anecdotal evidence indicates that those who watch Survivor are those who think they would win the game.
  • Given that 9 million people still watch it – making it consistently the #1 show in its time slot – there are a lot of social strategists out there.

Read more here.

Source: Nautilus