Was reality tv the start of it? People get to turn their brains off to watch the stories media companies want to tell. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t correlated with the decline of the American presidential debates.
We might have a new Democracy Collapse Disorder that impacts human societies in our hands.
I don't think reality TV was ever that big of a phenomenon in most of the world. It's a very American type of show, tbh.
It's pretty big in Brazil, which is also struggling with its democracy having been invaded by digital influencers and subcelebrities.