There's MTV's Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Jerseylicious and many more.

Jersey Shore
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But are these and the non-Jerseycentric reality shows fostering bad behavior? The answer may be yes!

Over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, Seaside Heights police arrested 151 people for disorderly persons' offenses. There's also been an increase nationwide in the number of kids, teens and even adults trying to get their 15 minutes of fame by being bad either on YouTube or through social media. Is this a growing trend? Could those shows with the bad behavior really causing more trouble?

Morristown Psychologist Dr. Steven Tobias says it's time for a major reality check for everyone. Tobias says "reality television is far from reality. Whenever you stick a camera in someone's face, they're gonna ham it up. There's no way that stuff we see on these shows are for real. It's always an exaggeration. People need to understand that and parents need to talk to their children."

A growing number of people are taking what they see on reality TV too far and are getting into trouble. Tobias adds "many of these people are becoming uninhibited with some of their actions. They see someone on TV acting badly and then they feel they can do it too. This is almost a follow the leader effect. Kids and teens are the most vulnerable.

Tobias recommends parents use discretion when it comes to what is allowed on the TV in the house. The kids need to realize it's entertainment and none of the actions should be emulated.

 

 

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