Big Brother and Bea – why I won’t be next!

Vicky Tuck, Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Daily Telegraph columnist writes: In a world of uncertainties, one thing that is guaranteed is that I shall never enter the Big Brother household. Of course, an invitation is unlikely to be forthcoming, but I cannot comprehend what motivates someone to want to surrender their privacy in such a way and be subjected to the scrutiny and the opprobrium of the television public. Doubtless my antipathy is just a reflection of the generation I belong to, as it is said that today’s young have no concept of privacy, growing up, as they do, in a culture of cyber self-expression. I am not sure what awaits Bea following her eviction from Big Brother since, after the character assassination that seems integral to the programme, it is difficult to imagine a media career of any substance or an easy return to whatever passed previously for normality.

I hope reality television has almost run its course (Editor: Channel 4 has now announced that BB will end after the 11th series in 2011) but one cannot but fear that there are rather too many people recovering from the experience of their transient ‘fame’. If the motivation to appear on television was to gain a stronger sense of self then surely this is indicative of a deep-rooted social malaise. So parents and schools must take on the vital task of fostering a stronger sense of personal identity and self-worth in their children.