Ah, the age old tale of the dating game. Boy meets girl, girl likes boy. Together they decide to go out on a date. And then the vast array of questions materializes: Where should we go? What things should we talk about? What is off limits? There are so many questions that your head will spin into a whirlwind of endless unknowns.

And thus the dating game cycles, recycles and well, recycles. Some of us love it, while others hide under their bed from it like it is the boogieman. Some people are really good at it, although most of us find it as awkward as riding a goat. Now though, there is a whole new breed of daters. Some of them suck at it, some of them get naked for it, and some actually find a partner for a night or week. But they all have one thing in common – they televise it.

The wonderful world of dating has burst onto the TV scene with a vengeance. You can watch people’s dating miseries and triumphs on shows like “Dismissed,” “Elimidate,” “The Fifth Wheel” and “Blind Date.” There is a lot of talk that these shows are trashy and are demoralizing our youth, but I find them incredibly intriguing. I might just be easy to entertain but there is something about these shows that I really enjoy.

MTV’s “Dismissed” was the first reality dating show I ever watched. Of course, being MTV, all the contestants were ultra-glam. I always found myself rooting for the ones who were not too trashy, but still had a lot of personality. My favorite competitor was a girl who, for her part of the date, did a complete tune-up on the guy’s car and still managed to be adorable while doing it. Sadly, he did not pick her.

Most on the show were not so laid-back. It seemed to get crazier and steamier as the season went on. When whipped cream became a regular on the show, I removed the show from my viewing list.

It became more about winning and who could put the other dater down the most. At the end when people were saying “Thank God I wasn’t dismissed” it is obvious that there is not a whole lot of romantic value.

I, personally, am a true romantic at heart. But maybe I was just expecting too much from these kinds of shows. So I took a chance with reality-tube dating once again with “Elimidate,” “The Fifth Wheel” and “Blind Date.” “Elimidate” was strikingly similar to “Dismissed,” but this time four people wanted the attention of one person. To me, this seems like every man’s fantasy: Four beautiful women hitting on him, doing anything to maintain his attention. And I do mean anything. Whipped cream was out, these contestants were all about the basics: Biting, licking and the ever-outrageous flashing.

I suppose that is why it is referred to as trash TV. “The Fifth Wheel” is certainly not any better. I think I have seen more shows where people have taken their clothes off than ones where everyone keeps them on.

But I still love it. The shows are addictive. Once you start watching, you just cannot stop. You have to know who is going to take it off first and if the person is going to choose the one you want to win.

Various people are going to argue that TV shows like “Elimidate” will rot our brains. The programming will add to the “pornographication of American culture,” a phase coined by political commentator Steven Spark to describe current trends in popular culture.

Shows like this must be the cause of all the unwed pregnancies and the increase in teenage sex. I learned in a class of mine that roughly 90 percent of males and females lose their virginity by age 19. Quite an interesting stat, although the number seems a bit high to me. All this must be the effect of trash TV.

Or poor parenting, a more liberal society, or even the increased independence of young adults due to inventions like the automobile.

Television, although an aid in exposure to many different ideas, is not the root cause of the lack of morals in our society. People on shows like “Dismissed” and “The Fifth Wheel” may portray immoral acts, but these people sinned before they went on the show.

I am just going to sit back and be entertained by these shows rather than contemplate their “pornographic” influence on society. They are a nice, mindless break from the world of studying and hard work. I find dates too often to be mundane and repetitive. This adds a bit of diversity, even if it is not my date. “Elimidate” and “The Fifth Wheel” make dating fun for all.

Ayrel Clark is a freshman in pre-journalism and mass communication from Johnston.