Viewers perspectives on reality dating shows in Ghana- a case study of date rush show

Abstract

Reality television shows are a relatively new genre on television that intriguingly draw in and hold the interest of different viewer demographics. One of the most common types of reality shows is a reality dating show. Reality dating shows have steadily taken over the TV programmes market and have also recently attracted a lot of interest from both scholars and television viewers. As such, the African media landscape has gradually embraced this genre of television programming and Ghana is not an exception. However, research on the phenomenon of reality dating shows has not received much attention. This study attempts to analyse the Date Rush show, a reality dating show produced by a privately owned Ghanaian television network, TV3. The study gathered data through three focus group discussions with active viewers of the Date Rush show in Winneba and phone interviews with four contestants of the show. The work was anchored on The Uses and Gratification theory, which offers an analysis of the motivations of the focus group participants for watching the reality dating show. Furthermore, Para-social Interaction theory was used to analyse the nature of interactions the viewers and contestants of Date Rush share. A purposive and snowball sampling technique are used to draw a sample of thirty (30) participants, consisting of four (4) contestants on the show and twenty-six (26) viewers. An analysis reveals that the most salient gratifications sought were entertainment and social interactions. Also, findings show that the viewers perceived the 'real' in the reality genre as partially scripted, not original or authentic. Besides, it was discovered that viewers and contestants of the Date Rush show form Para-social interactions. The Para-social interactions between viewers and contestants bothered on the kind of narrative engagement, social media engagement as well as face-to-face interactions. The study concludes that the Date Rush show (reality dating) television programmes have serious influences on viewers. The study recommends that there should also be more avenues for viewers to share and comment on the show. It appears that even though viewers interact with contestants of the show, the avenues for interactions are limited. The inclusion of segments like call in live and pass their comments or interests with the contestants would go a long way to enriching interactions.