When “Survivor” first graced our television screens in early 2000 the nation tuned in. As the first of many reality TV shows it drew a great deal of attention. Viewers liked watching a show about people they felt they could relate to. They liked that the people on this show lived in houses like theirs, in neighborhoods like theirs. They especially liked that they might even get the opportunity to be on one of these shows.

I was never a “Survivor” fan. In fact, I actually haven’t seen an episode of it to date. However, I did appreciate the concept, and thought the CBS executives had come up with a very good idea. As happens with most good ideas, the reality TV situation has gotten wildly out of hand.

My first point of order: “Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy.” You might also know this show as “Wife Swap.” Yes, one is on Fox and the other is on ABC. That pretty much covers the differences between the two. Essentially ABC came up with a good idea, and Fox stole it and was able to air it first. As if a show where the mothers from two families switch places for two weeks isn’t bad enough, now there are two of them. I don’t quite understand why anyone would want to move in with another family and allow some other woman to take control of theirs.

They say the point is for families to rediscover their love and appreciation for each other, but I watched an episode of one of these shows. One family blatantly liked their substitute mom better than their real one. Now who would want to deal with that, even for cash prize?

Fox’s latest piece of brilliance is “Nanny 911.” Similarly to the mommy-replacement shows, the premise of “Nanny 911” is having a professional come into an unruly household and show the parents how to properly take care of their children. Again, how on Earth do they find people who want to go on national television and announce to the world that not only do they have no idea how to handle their children, but they need a complete stranger to come in and show them how its done.

Millions of viewers, who will then see these people at the grocery store, at parent-teacher conferences and at the mall, will see them on TV crying to some woman. If all goes according to plan, these people’s children will respond better to this woman then they ever have to anyone. I’m wondering, if the people are such bad parents, why hasn’t social services dropped in on them?

Now let’s back up a bit. Before you screw up your kids, you have to get married, and before you get married you have to play the dating game. Of course, you can do all of this on TV. No, I’m not talking about the old school “Dating Game” with Bob Eubanks. I’m talking about “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette,” “Joe Millionaire,” etc. At this point it just becomes funny that they’re calling this reality TV. If these shows were reality, every girl on the planet would be 5’8″, 110 lbs., and a size 2, with perfect teeth and hair that never frizzes. Every guy would be 6’0″, 180 lbs., with a washboard stomach and a perfect tan. I go out into the world every day, and I can guarantee you this is not the case.

Totally disregarding the lack of reality in these shows and moving on to the content, I’ve come to the conclusion that they are basically an excuse for network television to bring in the viewers who have turned to premium cable for their naughty fix. I don’t think there has been an episode of any of these shows without a trip to the hot tub. I can’t help but think that these contestants must have parents, siblings, employers, or someone else that they’d rather not have accompanying them on their dates. Not to mention that their actions on these shows could very well take them out of the dating pool permanently.

Now I’m not knocking reality TV in general. One show I’m particularly impressed by is “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” This show picks a home in need of an overhaul that belongs to a deserving family. They send the family on vacation for a week and spend what I can only imagine is millions of dollars fixing the home according to the family’s needs. As far as I can tell this is one of the few reality TV shows with a completely selfless premise, other than of course making ABC look good as the bringers of all this good fortune.

Despite how sickening or sweet some of these shows may be, they are pulling in a ton of money for these networks. There are many reality TV shows I can’t believe are on television, but I suppose I can’t really blame the networks. Why would they cancel a goldmine? This leads me to believe that the real question is why are we watching? Do we like seeing other people in bad situations? Does it make us feel better about ourselves? Does it make us laugh? Do these shows offer solutions to problems we are experiencing in our own lives? I don’t know, but whatever it is, no matter how ridiculous, viewers keep tuning in. It looks like reality TV is here to stay.

Stacy Kasdin is a Collegian columnist.