“IT’S ON!” My older brother Dawson cried at the top of his lungs. Shocked, I checked my Pokemon watch. It was 6:59. Suddenly, I remembered that the new episode of That’s So Raven was premiering in ONE MINUTE! Clumsily, I pounced up the stairs and jumped into my mom’s bed just in time for the theme song. Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Raven designs and models a dress of her own creation for a fashion show. When criticized for not being a size two, Raven replied, “People come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re all beautiful.”

“IT’S ON!” My little brother Jack cried at the top of his lungs, several years later. Simultaneously, my mom and I groaned. Jack’s favorite show, iCarly, had to be the worst children’s show of all time. Reluctantly, we trudged to the couch and sat next to Jack and emotionally prepared for the episode just in time for the theme song. Sure enough, over the course of the next thirty minutes, Carly and Sam, while live on the internet, bully their teacher, Mrs. Briggs, for having “pointy boobs”.

Growing up in the age of Full House reruns, Lizzie McGuire, and That’s So Raven, television never ceased to provide me with positive role models. But, while Raven told off the editor of a fashion magazine for only publishing pictures of Barbie sized models, Carly and Sam chastised their teacher for not conforming to the media’s idea of beauty and having “pointy boobs”. Nickelodeon, what are you teaching my brother!?

Unfortunately, children’s programs make up the mere tip of iceberg. The late 90s and early 2000s featured one genre above all others: The Sitcom. Sit-down comedies like Friends or Seinfeld highlight the lives of ordinary people and their daily struggles. The reality of those shows is far more realistic than the favorite genre of today: “Reality” TV. Today’s reality shows do not show the lives of normal people; instead they expose odd or abnormal lifestyles for viewers to ridicule.

On a rainy day, I turn on the TV and try to find a Friends or Will & Grace rerun, but, instead, my entire TV guide is filled with titles like I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant, Amish Mafia, Duck Dynasty, and My Strange Addiction. Apparently, Duck hunters are more relatable than Chandler and Joey. Resigned, I flick on Toddlers and Tiaras and soon find myself laughing at a mother bribing her daughter with sugar cubes to perform in a beauty pageant for toddlers.

Does reality TV contribute to the recent decline of positive role models on television? Probably. Is my brother doomed to ignorance because the popular television series’ of his youth are plagued with innuendos and superficial characters? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean my parents are encouraging him to watch Jersey Shore either.

Fortunately for Honey Boo Boo, the publics’ infatuation with reality television is not dying down anytime soon. Unfortunately for society, gripping storylines and relatable characters are slowly becoming relics of the past.

After Toddlers and Tiaras ends, Kim Kardashian suddenly appears on my TV screen, feeding her placenta to her unknowing family. Quickly, I grab the remote and flick off the TV. Sorry Kim, not everyone wants to keep up with Kardashians.