The scientific reason why we indulge in shows like Temptation Island

I turn on the television and without any doubt I rush to RTL. ‘Temptatiooonnnn’, whispers the naughty voice.

Call it a guilty pleasure or not: I love shows like Temptation Island. I laughed out loud at Geordie Shore. Addicted to Love Island, even better. Put a group of random hotties in bikinis and swim trunks together in a house for weeks and you’ve got a guaranteed show. And tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people watch it. Every week. How is that? Why do we find these kinds of shows so delightful? And worse: why do we spend three hours a week on this, when we could also read a good book, watch a documentary about lion problems in Africa, or take a basic Spanish course in the same time?

It's not that bad

It has been scientifically researched. Luckily. We enjoy these kinds of shows because they simply make us feel good. From a psychological perspective, a logical explanation. We think while watching: oh, but it wasn’t that bad for me, when my boyfriend messed up. And also: how lucky I am that my partner has never cheated. That makes us happy. Rampapapaaa, there it is… The only reason we watch: we want to feel good. The suffering of another always softens your own pain. The suffering of another makes you find your own life more enjoyable. Your relationship is better than this, ha! Your man is better than all the participants combined! Something we as humans always seek: positive self-esteem.

Moreover, the shows are edited in such a way that they only enhance the ’thank god I’m doing okay’ feeling. Look, if your best friend is cheated on by her guy, then there’s only one thing going through your mind: the jerk. You never have to see that whole loser again and you are completely on her side. When you see couples randomly cheating on television, it’s actually even worse than a man diving into the bathroom with someone else for some good old sex without cameras around.

That’s because the joys and sorrows on television are all an exaggeration of things we have experienced ourselves, or of the misery that your best friend has gone through. In those television shows, the failures in the romance are all portrayed just a bit worse and it’s all just a bit more shocking. In real life, you don’t get to see ‘live’ footage of your husband lying in bed with someone else, you know.

Because of the shock factor, you keep watching, week after week. You just don’t experience something like that on an ordinary Thursday yourself. And because it has a shock factor, you find your own life only better and your own love only sweeter. And suddenly you find your bestie’s bad boyfriend okay. Well played, RTL, well played.

FACTS

• Almost 600,000 people are watching this season of Temptation Island, per episode.
• At least ten percent of all children are born out of wedlock.
• For couples who are breaking up, cheating is the only reason for a third.