I love reality TV. For one reason alone, pure unadulterated escapism.

By enjoying the trial and tribulations of others and seeing them deal with situations that we hope to never encounter, we can enjoy a plethora of emotions and connections with people we don’t know but know are real.

I had a couple of Australians visiting me whom my roommate met while studying abroad. They stayed in our house for two weeks and during that time they had a great period of enlightenment when it came to American television.

At first they were highly confused and asked me somewhat condescendingly, “Is all of TV in the states reality TV?” I answered quickly and displayed my bias. “All the good TV is.”

Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate a good sitcom. “Seinfeld” is far and away my favorite show of all time. However, it seems to me that the quality and diversity of scripted TV has been suffering in the past few years. With the exception perhaps of “The Simpsons,” and I prefer the reruns anyway.

Reality gets a bad name from critics who call the show trashy and mindless.

These viewers are from a different generation who remember the golden age of television where the whole family sat down and watched “The Honeymooners” or “I Love Lucy.” These days primetime scripted programming simply can’t live up.

To call reality TV mindless is to somehow make it seem as though scripted shows are intelligent and thought provoking. “Will and Grace” just doesn’t do that for me.

In America, where everything is go, go, go, people are busy all day long and when they have a chance to sit sometimes all they want is passive entertainment. In fact, it seems to me that that is exactly what television is intended to do.

I know from personal experience that when I get home from school and work I am ready to switch my brain off for some time.

I don’t need to be stimulated I just want to sit and let my brain wander in and out of whatever ridiculous thing Joe Rogan is making his contestants do.

Reality TV is also more of a social experience than scripted television. When I watch reality TV with my friends, there is a constant kibitzing that happens in relation to the show. We discuss who we like, who will win and who is going to get into a fight on the next show.

I will be the first to admit that these conversations are not intellectually stimulating but they are fun and do give me a break from the stresses in my own life.

Reality TV is not perfect. It is not uplifting or thought provoking but it is entertaining, and if you can tell me a better reason to watch a show, then I would gladly listen.