(ECNS) -- Over half of respondents in an online survey think celebrity gossip features too much in media reports while 56.8 percent think such content is harmful to young people.
China Youth Daily conducted an online survey of 1,875 people, of whom 48.5 percent were male and 51.5 percent female.
Accordingly, 57.2 percent frequently watch reality TV shows featuring entertainment celebrities, 35.4 percent seldom watch them and 7.4 percent never do. Such shows, it is reported, generate a large amount of gossip.
Some 52 percent of interviewees say they like reality shows, while 23.7 percent say they do not, and 24.4 percent say they have no strong opinion.
In addition, 23.9 percent of interviewees say they make comments online after watching such shows, while 51.5 percent say they only read comments, without sharing their own. The remaining 24.5 percent say they do not read or comment.
Interviewees believe such reality shows could cause multiple harms to young people, including interfering with the establishment of morally sound values (56.8 percent), harming their independent thinking capabilities (36.5 percent), exposing them to internet violence (36.3 percent), unintentionally encouraging them to disrespect the privacy of others (31.3 percent), as well as inanity after the excitement (28.4 percent).
It has been common to "consume celebrities", says Wang Yingji, an associate professor in communications at Beijing Normal University. Everyone can talk about celebrities, which are only a part of profit chains from Internet and entertainment industries.
