By Lauren Morales

As the Writers Guild of America strike nears the three-month mark and a new season begins, major television networks are struggling to replace their original content. Successful primetime series like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Office” have been replaced with reality shows like “My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad” and “Farmer Needs a Wife.”

However, reality TV is nothing new to this generation of college students. Many students have grown up watching it, from “The Real World” to “Survivor” to “The Simple Life.” Inexpensive to produce but popular with audiences, reality shows have begun to air on all channels: SOAPnet has “I Wanna Be a Soap Star,” The Food Network has “The Next Food Network Star” and even the Sci-Fi Channel has “Who Wants to Be a Superhero?”

“The Real World” and its tagline ended up becoming the template for what reality television is today: “This is the true story of seven strangers … [who] have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real.”

The success of “The Real World” led to “Survivor,” a popular competitive program that was the inspiration for “The Amazing Race” and “Big Brother.” Earlier this decade, television producers decided to combine the power of reality television with society’s celebrity obsession, thus creating “celebreality” shows like “The Osbournes,” “Newlyweds” and “The Simple Life.”

As popular as reality TV has become, not everyone is a fan. Some said the shows have harmful effects on society.

“I think that it really does have a negative impact because it shows anyone can be on television,” said communication studies professor Kumi Silva. “Everyone can have a TV show.”

Sometimes, when reality programs are done, successful participants receive offers to star in their own show. For example, “Flavor of Love” contestant Tiffany Pollard, better known to America as “New York,” was so wildly popular that she earned her own spin-off: “I Love New York.”

Reality TV participants have little to hide. They wear microphones and the cameras are on full-time. In one episode of “America’s Next Top Model,” a program in which aspiring models compete for implied, yet rarely achieved, stardom, a camera crew followed contestants during their first Brazilian bikini waxes.

“It says a lot about our current culture [and] the idea [that] everything is out in the open,” Silva said. “It’s a fascinating and disturbing take on surveillance.”

As the demand for reality TV increases, creators have been forced to continually produce new concepts.

“I think [reality TV] is going to remain popular this season because they keep coming up with interesting ideas for series, but I think the hype is going to be over once the strike ends,” said Rachel McCloskey, a middler political science major.

This season, there is a new wave of reality programs slated to air. On NBC’s “The Baby Borrowers,” teen couples will attempt to set up a home, get a job and become parents, according to the network’s website. FOX’s “When Women Rule the World” will send male contestants to a remote location where they will be ruled by women, and must accede to their demands in order to win the grand prize, according to FOX’s website.

With the inundation of reality programs, Silva said she believes viewers will want to switch to channels where they can find original content.

“It’s going to be a huge economic loss. I think a huge amount of audiences will move to cable television,” Silva said. “It already is a saturated market. There’s so many reality shows, it’s not as interesting. Shows just come and go.”

Yet some shows come and stay, even when the premise would suggest a one-time-only deal. MTV is currently casting for another season of “A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila,” in which contestants compete to win the affections of the Internet celebrity and model.

Many students don’t seem to mind the reality overload. David Weber, a sophomore finance major, said he is excited about the upcoming season of “Tila Tequila” because he was disappointed with the outcome of the first season.

“Bobby and Tila’s relationship was really based on lust,” he said. “When I last checked, the show was called ‘A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila,’ and this is why I’m excited to see what will happen in the next season.”

The next season of MTV’s “The Hills” was shot in Paris, following main characters Lauren and Whitney as they explore the city. Judging by a trailer released by MTV, the show will have similar elements from previous seasons, like lots of fashion and lots of drama, despite being set in a new city.

“I am looking forward to when they go to Paris because all of my favorite past episodes are when they produce fashion shows,” said Meghan Coan, a sophomore communication studies major. “I’m also looking forward to the Brody and Lauren relationship because of last season’s cliffhanger.”

Previews for the new season of VH1’s “Rock of Love” featuring Bret Michaels’ continued search for his new soulmate by challenging contestants with a roller derby race and a pig-wrestling match.

Despite a saturated market and a somewhat struggling television industry, some students can’t help but look forward to their favorite reality shows.

“I have been preparing and praying for an amazing season of ‘Rock of Love 2,'” McCloskey said. “I’m also looking forward to ‘The Biggest Loser’ to motivate me with my own diet.”