Last but not least: I am a child, get me out of here
Everyone watches the jungle show. Not just young and old, but also very young. And many women.
In Australia, a group of cervelats are currently fighting to reanimate their careers. Some of the camp participants were so unknown at the beginning that RTL first had to explain the reason for their presence to the viewers. One once took part in "Bachelor" (and was already known as a bitch there), another was a contestant on "Germany's Top Model". The mother of reality TV phenomenon Daniela Katzenberger meets the daughter of Tony Curtis. A former DSDS contestant meets a soap actress who wants to show everyone what she's made of (and happens to be featured in the latest Playboy). There's also a Turkish Latino wannabe who landed a trash summer hit a long time ago. Plus a suspicious Klaus from Klaus & Klaus, the tragically aged Helmut Berger and the Scrooge blackmailer who, together with an eloquent transvestite, forms the intellectual elite of this year's jungle camp. And of course Patrick Nuo, who represents Switzerland and boosts the sales figures of future recordings with a confession of porn addiction.
The show simply has it all. No wonder the trash fireworks dominate the ratings in German-speaking countries at will. There's no need for critical essays - just like flimsy pseudo-sociocultural explanations as to why people are so entertained by "Ich bin ein Star, holt mich hier raus!" every day. A show that officially nobody watches - in Germany an average of seven million viewers per evening (and 41 percent of the advertising target group). Unfortunately, we can only guess that the situation is similar in Switzerland, where ratings have been abolished.
The Swiss quality print medium Blick asked in astonishment on Thursday "Why do women watch jungle junk?". IPMZ professor Heinz Bonfadelli explained why. Another part of the article almost became irrelevant: "The slimy jungle trials are particularly popular with the very young: 210,000 girls aged between three and 13 tune in night after night at 10.15 pm". Perhaps the more relevant question would be what young children are doing in front of the television at this time (and in general). And why they are watching programs at this age that undoubtedly require a certain level of media literacy and are definitely not intended for children's eyes. The airtime gives unsuspecting parents vague hints in this regard. Unfortunately, Professor Bonfadelli was not asked about this.
Thomas Häusermann
