h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

When I heard that there was a reality show called "Wife Swap" I nearly had a heart attack. This was not out of delight for my ever entertainment seeking life, but out of shock. My first thought was: Wait, didn't someone write a short story on this very topic that was quite dark and a good bit of social commentary? Answering my own question in the affermitive, I thought about "The Mommy Market", and what a terriffing concept that is.

After thinking for a while, with great consideration to context and content, I came to the conclusion that "Wife Swap" had taken a biting piece of social commentary and turned it into mindless entertainment. Taking that logic a step further, I wondered how long it would be before entertainment entered the rhelm of reality, because life immitates art, and television is entertainment based on what was once art. How long would it be before women actually began trading lives with one another, just to get away? It may seem like a ludicrous thought, but why not. If it's on television, someone's going to take it seriously.

In my mind, the implications of this are immence. What happens when the general population, or worse, the government, begin to base their happenings on what they see or read? Reality television has briged the gap between reality and television, so how long will it take for that to seep into socity? I know it's cliche, but I can't help but think about 1984, and how close the United States is getting. While this may not seem relevent, I believe it is extremely so, for before "Wife Swap" was "The Mommy Market", so following that logic, what can come now from 1984 when you look at what the United States government is doing?