Introductions:
In a county where football and Music are often considered the only unifying forces, BBN (Big Brother Naija) has emerged as a surprising third contwndery. The Reality TV show which started in 2006, has grown from common entertainment program to a cultural phenomenon, captivating the attention of millions of Nigerians both the old and the young.
For 72 days, a diverse group of contestants known as housemates live together in a built house isolated from the outside world. No use of phone or internet and the most interesting part of their moves are been monitored and broadcast 24/7 as they compete for a grand prize of 100 million and the coveted title of Big Brother Naija winner.
Here is a detailed rundown of Big brother Naija (BBN) from the first season to the last edition
Season1 (2006) – The winner was Katung Aduwak
Season 2 (2017) – The winner was Efe Ejeba
Season 3 (2018) – The winner was Miracle Igbokwe
Season 4 (2019) – The winner was Mercy Eke
Season 5 (2020) – The winner was Laycon Agbeleshe
Season6 (2021) – The winner was White money
Season 7 (2022) – The winner was Phyna
Season 8 (2023) – The winner was Ilebaye Odinya
In this feature, I will explore the dark side of BBN and the Reality TV industry as a whole. Exploitation of contestants is part of the dark side of BBN because it exploit the contestants in the part of privacy invasions. They are monitored and recorded with no privacy and this can be a violation of their human rights and dignity.
They are also subjected to emotional stress and manipulation to create drama and conflict so that the show could be more interesting for people to watch. But this is not right, it is called Emotional Manipulation.
Another dark side view of the Reality TV show is the social media toxicity. We understand that this REALITY TV show has a significant online presence, with millions of fans and followers on social media, but still this online engagement has also lead to a toxic social media in the essence of (cyber bullying) fans and followers often engage in harassment, intimidation and bullying of contestants, and even the show organizers.
Another aspect of the social media toxicity is body shaming. The contestants are often subjected to body shaming with fans and followers making derogatory comments about their physical appearance, including the fans and followers frequently troll each other, posting inflammatory and provocative comments. This is really a dark side of the Reality TV show and it shouldn’t be encouraged anymore.
Unfair compensation is a dark reality show of the BBN. The contestants are been denied fair wages and benefits. The winner are sometimes not been paid immediately. Mostly for the participants that are been evicted from the house are not paid at all, often expected to cover their expenses.
The shows emphasis on drama and conflict, creating toxic environment that encourages the housemates to engage harmful behaviour, all for the sake of entrainment which is not supposed to be. It should be an educating program but no, rather, it is a negative influence on young viewers, mostly promoting sexual promiscuity. Engaging in live porn, it is totally a waste of time.
There are some notable individuals who have publicly expressed their criticism of BBN. Such personalities like Lauretta Onochie criticized the show for promoting immorality.
According to Miss Victoria, a student of medical laboratory in Kogi State University Kabba, the winner of the 2022 was not paid on time but later the host of the Big Brother Naija paid her, she also said the runner-up should be compensated, including the Housemates who were also evicted. She is really against the unfair compensation. She also added by saying voting irregularity, allegations of rich voting and manipulation of contestants has mount the show reputation in a wrong way. “It do lead to emotional breakdown after the show,” she said.
A student who craved anonymity said: “I want to share the view of my own side of story concerning the Reality show when I went to visit my friend at the hospital and I was privileged to watch a little about it, I could say it’s not educating at all, the toxicity is too much. The way they have constant engage in argument and it is not producing anything positive. Nudity and sex, I am sure some of them have boyfriends/girlfriends back at home. What are they trying to tell us???? That we can have sex anywhere we want or want to have it??? It is just an arena for immorality and I wouldn’t want to bring this into the part of religious terms.
According to Richard Fagbuyi, Creative Director at Royal Grail Faxion, the show is a source of distraction rather than information and education.
“The show became a source of distraction to a lot of people especially the young ones because the show aired 24/7 which made a lot of youth stay glued to the Television rather than spending time doing other things. Even at midnight the show still find a way to still be active and this has caused a lot of youth to mismanage there time in consuming good and quality content or spend the time in doing something productive rather they spent it trying to not miss out details from the show. This is not an element of a good show.
“Also, the show is a negative influence on a targeted demographic population which constitutes of youth and young adults. Negative Influence in terms of championing characters that are against the traditional of most culture in and religions Nigeria, characters like dressing, promoting alcohol, smoking, gambling, sexually misconduct, promiscuity, indecency and more.
“The show has promoted all this actions and vices which In turn influence the targeted demography to indulge in this our communities at the county at large.
“The show has many dark sides in another terms of how it gets the show funded. The show make money at the expense of the targeted audiences who became engrossed in the show and ends up been conjured to votes for their money (hard earned money) to vote for their favorite candidates or contestants. In a statistical analysis of how much they make from voting, it show that the organizers stylishly take money from the audience to make profits. Personally, I believe this is a type fraud where the audience are manipulated to use their money and fund the show without knowing. Little drops from millions of people every week becomes a might ocean In the coffees every week”.
According to vanguard newspaper, in 2019, fans and viewers spent N7.2 bn on 250m votes at the rate of 30 naira per vote. Fast forward to 2023, the most recent season of the show, the show had over 2 billion votes at the rate of 30 Naira per votes. The sum is outrageous compared to the prices to be won and the show budget. That obviously a huge and manipulating way to sway the citizen into voluntarily giving their money to the organizers.
In conclusion, behind the glitz and glamour of Big Brother Naija lies a sinister reality. The show’s toxic environment, exploitation of contestants and prioritization of ratings over well being have lasting effects on those involved. As the Nigerian entertainment industry continues to grow, it is essential to hold producers and organizer’s accountable for the welfare of participants. By shedding light on the dark side of the Reality TV named BBN, I hope to have sparked a meaningful charge and ensure that reality TV shows prioritize the humanity of their contestants over the pursuit of profit and ratings.
– Moody Morenikeji Deborah
300 Level Student of Mass Communication Department,
Prince Abubakar Audu University Anyigba, Kogi state
