I have a guilty pleasure, and it comes in the deplorable form of the Kardashians. I had never truly understood the meaning of a guilty pleasure until I began watching the chronicles of all the petty issues that befall reality TV’s most melodramatic, narcissistic family. Shamefully, I look forward to winding down after a long day by viewing the utterly simplistic, vapid and brain-numbing reality that is “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” because it allows me to desensitize my mind to such a degree that I truly wonder if there is still any activity going on in there.

I’ve begun to ponder this family’s version of “reality,” and the reality that is represented in all such TV shows. During the moments when I am sucked into the vortex of the Kardashians’ luxurious lives, with their walk-in closets the size of three-car garages and lined with hundred of shoes and designer dresses, I often forget that such a lifestyle is entirely unrealistic.

Isn’t this contrary to the whole notion of “reality” TV and what is most commonly perceived to be realistic? I see the casual manner in which the family regards their affluent, opulent lifestyle and how conventional and average it all appears in the sphere of their self-indulgent society. However, the sweeping majority of ordinary TV viewers do not live in such wealthy, lavish environments, so this creates a tremendous problem. If that level of wealth and superiority is shown as reality, then why are all of reality TV’s viewers so … below it?

This supposed “real life” depicted in reality TV shows is brainwashing its viewers into seeing the behavior and affluence of its stars as a new standard, portraying a version of reality that is detached from what is really going on in the world. While I certainly feel like I am losing brain cells by watching Kim Kardashian ugly-cry over a diamond earring or her sister Kourtney scold the others for eating non-organic peanut butter, I find myself sucked into their version of “ordinary” and illogically comparing it to mine.

Watching the Kardashians and their warped reality provides a window into an entirely romanticized, far-fetched world, and yet I can’t help but feel a sinking jealousy of their indulgent lives whenever I tune in.

Perhaps shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” or “How I Met Your Mother” don’t improve your intellect either, but at least they’re not presenting an idealized version of something intended to appear as reality. Most fictional TV shows don’t depict the kind of wealth we see in “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” anyway, probably because producers and writers understand that such a lifestyle is unrealistic and therefore unrelatable to the common viewer.

Ironically, the shows presented as reality suggest that extreme wealth can be achieved with very, very little talent and effort, not to mention that every member of a family can somehow be stunningly attractive, curvy and physically “gifted” (if you catch my drift). I mean, not all of us can afford artificial endowments.

That’s just not realistic.