Latest news with #WollongongUniversity
Newsroom
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsroom
Reality TV's Achilles' heel
Reality TV's summer of love ended with laughter, celebration and cheers but no amount of fireworks could make up for what's arguably been Love Island UK's most controversial season. Misogyny, sexist comments, and bullying behaviour – producers have been inundated with complaints about some of this season's contestants. One episode in particular prompted more than 1,000 complaints and a call from Women's Aid UK. Today The Detail speaks to senior entertainment writer Tara Watson about the show's problematic history, and Jane Herbert, an associate professor in developmental psychology from Wollongong University, about the wider implications of reality TV. 'We learn through just watching and observing the things that are in our world,' Herbert says. 'When we've got lots of programmes … presenting these extreme views to people, they start to see those behaviours as 'It's in my environment all the time, this must be the way that we're supposed to act',' she says. Shows like Love Island are premised on creating as much drama as possible, and one issue that arises is bigotry – when an individual has such a strong view on something that they refuse to even acknowledge another view. 'We're not understanding what we might call a theory of mind, that people have other opinions that might be different from ours and that it's worthwhile listening to those opinions,' Herbert says. It's important to note that Love Island UK isn't the only reality TV show with problems. Most recently MasterChef UK fired two of its hosts after separate allegations of racist remarks and sexual misconduct were substantiated. The host of another reality TV show, The Repair Shop, has recently been charged with two counts of rape. Ultimately it is up to individuals to choose what they watch and how much they consume, but Herbert says the widespread popularity and tactical evening release time makes shows like Love Island UK difficult to ignore. And with the rise of social media and online streaming, access to these kinds of shows – whether that be through full-length episodes or short social media clips – is easier than ever. 'It's changed a lot from when we were younger, and we only had a couple of channels, and everyone watched the same thing. 'Now our viewing is very individual. We can pick and choose when we watch it, we can be watching it sometimes when we are in very vulnerable states and we can also share snip-bits with people as well and present very distorted views,' she says. Herbert doesn't think we should get rid of reality TV, arguing it can actually bring up important discussions. 'Number of partners, or what things we enjoy in sex, there might not be a normal conversation and watching shows like [Love Island] might be helpful for getting some of those views out; but when it becomes unhelpful is when you only hear one side of the story or one becomes very dominant,' she explains. It's a genre that despite all its flaws remains incredibly popular. After facing a slump in previous years, this season's viewership of Love Island UK rose to over 2.6 million for the first episode. 'It feels like it's reality,' Herbert says. 'These shows, they draw us in because we don't know exactly what's going to happen next. But the target audience for these ones [Love Island] are vulnerable people who are just learning about relationships … so we need to think about the way we support people when they're watching these sorts of shows.' Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
RNZ News
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- RNZ News
The Detail: Reality TV's Achilles heel
Love Island logo Photo: Love Island Facebook Reality TV's summer of love ended with laughter, celebration and cheers, but no amount of fireworks could make up for what's arguably been Love Island UK' s most controversial season. Misogyny, sexist comments and bullying behaviour - show producers have been inundated with complaints about some of this season's contestants. One episode in particular prompted more than 1000 complaints and a call from Women's Aid UK. Today, The Detail speaks to senior entertainment writer Tara Watson about the show's problematic history and Jane Herbert, an associate professor in developmental psychology from Wollongong University, about the wider implications of reality TV. "We learn through just watching and observing the things that are in our world," Herbert said. "When we've got lots of programmes... presenting these extreme views to people, they start to see those behaviours as 'it's in my environment all the time, this must be the way that we're supposed to act'." Shows like Love Island are premised on creating as much drama as possible and one issue that arises is bigotry - when an individual has such a strong view on something that they refuse to even acknowledge another view. "We're not understanding what we might call a theory of mind, that people have other opinions that might be different from ours and that it's worthwhile listening to those opinions," Herbert said. It's important to note that Love Island UK isn't the only reality TV show with issues. Most recently, MasterChef UK fired two of its hosts , after separate allegations of racist remarks and sexual misconduct were substantiated. The host of another reality TV show - The Repair Shop - has recently been charged with two counts of rape . Ultimately, it is up to individuals to choose what they watch and how much they consume, but Herbert said the widespread popularity and tactical evening release time made shows like Love Island UK difficult to ignore. With the rise of social media and online streaming, access to these kinds of shows - whether that be through full length episodes or short social media clips - is easier than ever. "It's changed a lot from when we were younger and we only had a couple of channels, and everyone watched the same thing. "Now our viewing is very individual. We can pick and choose when we watch it, we can be watching it sometimes when we are in very vulnerable states and we can also share snip-bits with people as well, and present very distorted views," she said. Herbert didn't think we should get rid of reality TV, arguing it could actually bring up important discussions. "Number of partners or what things we enjoy in sex, there might not be a normal conversation and watching shows like [ Love Island ] might be helpful for getting some of those views out;" she explained. "When it becomes unhelpful is when you only hear one side of the story or one becomes very dominant." Despite all its flaws, the genre remains incredibly popular. After facing a slump in previous years, this season's viewership of Love Island UK rose to over 2.6 million for the first episode. "It feels like it's reality," Herbert said. "These shows, they draw us in, because we don't know exactly what's going to happen next. "The target audience for these ones [ Love Island ] are vulnerable people who are just learning about relationships... so we need to think about the way we support people, when they're watching these sorts of shows." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
Sydney Morning Herald
09-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sydney's accidental MPs who seized Liberal seats when no one was looking
He has lived in the Shire his whole life, attending local Catholic schools (St John Bosco primary and high schools in Engadine) and the Shire campus of Wollongong University, where he studied economics and finance. He has worked for a Shire state MP (Maryanne Stuart, the Labor MP for Heathcote) and his parents are local public school teachers. Moncrieff says his strength was knowing so many people in his community, whether from his former schools or cricket club or through his family. 'I focused on direct community engagement, I campaigned full-time and being a local, I knew a lot of the issues, and when I would door knock, there was always people I knew, or knew my parents,' Moncrieff says. 'We have lots of small business owners and lots of people with technical education such as tradies so the messages – tax cuts, fee-free TAFE – were resonating with people. I was a teenager in the Rudd-Gillard years when the Labor brand was toxic, but now people see us as pro business and pro economy.' Moncrieff is adamant his win was not a fluke. Rather, it was the result of plenty of hard work. 'The fact that Hughes wasn't being looked at on election night, summed it up. People felt that they had been ignored,' Moncrieff says. Soon, meanwhile, is a former diplomat who was stationed in Afghanistan. He was the youngest ever appointee to the NSW Board of Studies and studied at the Australian National University. Born in Malaysia, Soon moved to Sydney aged three and grew up in Revesby. He went to Hurlstone Technology High and is now raising his young family in Padstow. Apart from his overseas posting and his university studies, Soon has never left Banks. He has had a long career in public policy, especially education, and behavioural economics – but had a calling to politics. Soon unsuccessfully contested Banks for Labor at the 2022 election. So how did he pull off a task no one thought possible this time? 'In my heart of hearts I thought Banks was a Labor seat,' Soon, 39, says. 'I was focused on the hard work, knocking on thousands of doors and generally trying to help people, even with things that had nothing to do with the election. On one of the doors, I helped someone register their Service NSW app, so I just tried to be helpful to every person I met.' He says Labor's commitment to roll out more urgent care clinics was popular in Banks – a 'tangible' policy, he says – but Soon believes his lifelong ties to the electorate won him the seat. 'When people raise roads, I know exactly what they are talking about because I have driven on those roads all my life. I can tell them the best places to park,' Soon says. 'Banks is my home, it always has been.' Moncrieff and Soon had very little financial help from Labor head office, other than the standard allowance to cover how-to-vote cards, corflutes and campaign T-shirts. One senior party operative, who asked not to be named to speak frankly, said: 'They were definitely accidental MPs. Hughes and Banks were just not in our sights at all.' Moncrieff and Soon celebrated their wins on Saturday night, then it was straight back to work. Both were at train stations first thing on Monday. Moncrieff at Sutherland, Soon at Riverwood – this time, they went to thank voters for sending them to Canberra.
The Age
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Sydney's accidental MPs who seized Liberal seats when no one was looking
He has lived in the Shire his whole life, attending local Catholic schools (St John Bosco primary and high schools in Engadine) and the Shire campus of Wollongong University, where he studied economics and finance. He has worked for a Shire state MP (Maryanne Stuart, the Labor MP for Heathcote) and his parents are local public school teachers. Moncrieff says his strength was knowing so many people in his community, whether from his former schools or cricket club or through his family. 'I focused on direct community engagement, I campaigned full-time and being a local, I knew a lot of the issues, and when I would door knock, there was always people I knew, or knew my parents,' Moncrieff says. 'We have lots of small business owners and lots of people with technical education such as tradies so the messages – tax cuts, fee-free TAFE – were resonating with people. I was a teenager in the Rudd-Gillard years when the Labor brand was toxic, but now people see us as pro business and pro economy.' Moncrieff is adamant his win was not a fluke. Rather, it was the result of plenty of hard work. 'The fact that Hughes wasn't being looked at on election night, summed it up. People felt that they had been ignored,' Moncrieff says. Soon, meanwhile, is a former diplomat who was stationed in Afghanistan. He was the youngest ever appointee to the NSW Board of Studies and studied at the Australian National University. Born in Malaysia, Soon moved to Sydney aged three and grew up in Revesby. He went to Hurlstone Technology High and is now raising his young family in Padstow. Apart from his overseas posting and his university studies, Soon has never left Banks. He has had a long career in public policy, especially education, and behavioural economics – but had a calling to politics. Soon unsuccessfully contested Banks for Labor at the 2022 election. So how did he pull off a task no one thought possible this time? 'In my heart of hearts I thought Banks was a Labor seat,' Soon, 39, says. 'I was focused on the hard work, knocking on thousands of doors and generally trying to help people, even with things that had nothing to do with the election. On one of the doors, I helped someone register their Service NSW app, so I just tried to be helpful to every person I met.' He says Labor's commitment to roll out more urgent care clinics was popular in Banks – a 'tangible' policy, he says – but Soon believes his lifelong ties to the electorate won him the seat. 'When people raise roads, I know exactly what they are talking about because I have driven on those roads all my life. I can tell them the best places to park,' Soon says. 'Banks is my home, it always has been.' Moncrieff and Soon had very little financial help from Labor head office, other than the standard allowance to cover how-to-vote cards, corflutes and campaign T-shirts. One senior party operative, who asked not to be named to speak frankly, said: 'They were definitely accidental MPs. Hughes and Banks were just not in our sights at all.' Moncrieff and Soon celebrated their wins on Saturday night, then it was straight back to work. Both were at train stations first thing on Monday. Moncrieff at Sutherland, Soon at Riverwood – this time, they went to thank voters for sending them to Canberra.
