[James]

For what it is worth, I agree with a lot of that. Reality TV contestants get so much criticism from people like us for three reasons, in my opinion:

These shows are set up to encourage public involvement and debate.

Not many of us would ever go on a show like that so it's difficult to empathise with the people who do.

These shows hold up a mirror to ourselves, and we don't always like what we see.

The only thing I would say though is that they only looked at two shows, and the people who go on those shows might not be typical of the genre.