WENDELL HUSSEY | Cadet | CONTACT
A senior Australian TV executive has today confirmed a belief long held by many that the term ‘social experiment’ has in fact been completely and utterly redefined by networks as a polite way of telling the audience that they don’t respect them anymore and have essentially given up
Traditionally, a social experiment is a research project conducted with human subjects in the real world.
It typically investigates the effects of a policy intervention by randomly assigning individuals, families, businesses, classrooms, or other units to different treatments or to a controlled condition that represents the status quo.
However, in 2019, a social experiment can now be described as an overly sexualised, produced, edited and dramatised TV program.
“Yep, the term social experiment is now just a fantastic way of passing off horrendous reality TV as something a little bit more than that,” said the executive who requested that he remain anonymous for obvious reasons.
“Ultimately, people enjoy guilty pleasures. Like a durry in the bath or a family pack of lollies on the couch at night, and appalling shows like Married At First Sight (MAFS) are no different.”
An avid viewer of MAFS Angie Coulton told The Advocate people are totally aware what social experiment now means, and that the term is becoming tiresome.
“It’s a crock of shit, isn’t it. I’m watching it because I don’t mind a bit of light viewing on a school night, I’m not watching it because it’s a social experiment,” said the solicitor at a small firm in the Betoota Ponds.
“And I don’t know where these scientists got qualified because the way they match most of these couples up is appalling.”
“They have one coming up about tinder swiping from home or something like that. I don’t think even I, as a confessed reality TV viewer will be able to bare that.”
