[Gaffer]

1) They are not ‘reality’.
2) They are contrived and scripted
3) They are way outside the norm on advertising with respect to content vs. advertising.
4) Complete waste of time.

[PJ-Comix]

4) Complete waste of time.

Not really because you learn about a lot of cool stuff on some of the shows. I like when they get info on the different stuff on "Storage Wars" and a lot of people like "Pawn Stars" for the same reason. I used to do the storage bin auction bit so it brings back memories for me.

[Old Sarge]

1) They are not ‘reality’. Agreed.
2) They are contrived and scripted. Agreed.
3) They are way outside the norm on advertising with respect to content vs. advertising. Agreed.
4) Complete waste of time. Not necessarily.

Many "reality" shows are prime examples of how NOT to behave or operate.

For example, I point and laugh at many episodes of "Doomsday Preppers" (which The Bride and I refer to as "Doomsday Attention Whores"). Occasionally, we have a "Gee-I-Didn't-Think-Of-That" moment, but the amount of offal you have to plow through to find the nuggets is daunting.