Where's the reality in reality TV?

How real is reality television? That's the No. 1 question on my mind each time I tune into today's top TV shows.

It all started with "Survivor," and it's gone downhill from there. Reality television has taken America by storm over the past few years, but how real is it?

They may call it reality but viewers don't know if contestants are acting like themselves or taking on a persona for the cameras.

This bothers me, but I'm bothered by other things, too. Can you really be dropped on one side of the earth and find your way home? And what about the cameramen who film the shows where contestants have to suffer from starvation and sleep depravation to win. Do they have to eat what the contestants eat and sleep where they sleep, or do they lounge comfortably and eat fine foods while their subjects stare them down?

But famine has become passe to the average American these days. What America likes now is dating shows. Who doesn't like to see grown women act like fools on national television? I admit I was lured into "Bachelor" and "Bachelorette." After all, the thought of finding your true love from a group of 25 men or women chosen from the six billion people on this planet is quite enticing. I can't forget to mention "Joe Millionaire." I suppose any woman shallow enough to be attracted to a man by the size of his wallet should be ridiculed and mocked by all of America.

But this leads back to my original question. If the show's so "real," shouldn't the bachelor "really" have the money?

Every TV station these days seems to have a dating show. MTV's is called "Taildaters," where friends watch a couple on a date via camera and offer suggestions about how to spice up the evening.

But dating shows and survivor games aren't the only reality shows dominating TV screens across America.

There are reality remodeling shows such as "Trading Places" and "While You Were Out." I actually enjoy watching these but find the endless chatter annoying.

In its own class is "Fear Factor." I'm positive many people will agree with me when I say $50,000 isn't enough money to eat pig rectum or coagulated blood balls.

Rarely are reality shows spoken of without bringing up "The Real World," "The Osbournes" and the always-taunted "Anna Nicole Smith Show," which I can proudly say I have never seen and never will.

Like many teens, I adore "The Osbournes." But "The Real World," now in its 12th season, never ceases to surprise me. While I haven't watched an entire episode in years, it seems as if they always find exactly the right combination of people. There's the religious, faithful person, the cocky guy, the girl who cries at everything, the one who knows where all the good raves are, and the one who's just plain screwed up. They must have a special crew searching for these participants day and night, because I've never seen a combination like that in real life.

The newest -- and by far the most ridiculous -- reality show is "Are You Hot?" How far can we sink? It's no surprise other countries criticize us. The idea behind this show is to find the sexiest people in America. In reality, it just seems that ABC needed higher ratings and everyone knows sex really does sells.

My life is pretty real but I have never seen anyone like me on television. Perhaps if I had some serious behavioral problem or eccentric habit I could have my own show.

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