Dignity, Anyone?

Nicole has an interesting post today and it somehow connects with my recent experience with Facebook. It is about an "Oprah" broadcast where her squad of invasive declutterers "helps" unsuspecting people who have tidiness issues.

I cannot, for the life of me, imagine why anyone would (a) allow total strangers to come into their personal space and weed through their possessions and (b) want this exposure to be seen on national television.

I suppose it is for money.

I have skimmed a couple of other "reality" television programs, where people swap a member of their household for a week, where they let a crew of "professionals" rifle their closets and mock their clothing, where they live among a group of strangers and collaborate on projects amidst the exaggerated interpersonal difficulties that crop up.

I don't choose to watch much television, but sometimes I'm exposed to it under circumstances that are more or less beyond my control.

Once in a hospital waiting room the TV was set to a program where a host was interviewing a family. The mom was morbidly obese and slovenly and she was screaming about why shouldn't her adult children assist her with toilet functions -- after all, she had changed their diapers when they were babies.

A couple of weeks ago at the place where I occasionally have my nails done, "Dr. Phil" was featuring a woman whose high-school age daughter had left home and was living as a prostitute. Yes, the daughter was on the show as well. The two guests argued, cried, and emoted while the host acted as an ineffective intermediary.

Fortunately, I've blocked out other examples.

"Too Much Information" has been a theme for me recently, and these television programs fall into that category and introduce another element: Dignity, or rather the lack thereof. I assume all of these people are paid mightily for exposing themselves, for what should be humiliating experiences. And that strikes me as terribly sad.

All at once, I'm feeling really old.