It’s been a month of celebrations for me. I reached the grand old age of 23 and attended the wedding of an old school friend. Before the latter descended into an orgy of champagne and shameless disco classics, I was lucky enough to enjoy some amusing speeches. The groom, who is several years older than the bride, joked about how he had begun to watch reality television in a bid to ignite conversation with the young lady he now calls his wife.

His reference to reality TV as ‘drivel’ made me wonder what it is that I find so abhorrent about the medium’s popularity.