Hi my name is Sarah and this is my dirty little secret!

My name is Sarah and I am a reality Television addict

For my friends and family this is not a mind blowing admission, it is something we don't talk about much, something that gets swept under the table with all the other dirty little secrets we keep for each other. I have some friends who would rather I come out as an alcoholic or drug addict (I'm not normal and neither are my friends so stop judging us!) than as someone who spends a chunk of their evening watching train wreck television. At least if I drank or took recreational drugs I would be up for a good time right?

Instead of being the life of the party however I am at home making sure dinner is cooked by 7:30pm so we can watch Masterchef, and if Mr Saunders thinks I am talking to him after it finishes he can think again! The last two nights I have been changing the channel to catch the end of 'When Love Comes To Town' and let me tell you that is a total bus wreck. If you don't know what I did there then you haven't watched the show, or any of the many, many advertisements.

I also watch The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, The Bachelor, Next Top Model (any of them), Hard Core Porn, Pawn Stars, RBT, Cops, Wife Swap, Tabitha's Salon Takeover....Come on you get the picture right? I really love that cringe worthy, fifteen minute of fame chasing, fake honesty that you get to see when you sit down to watch reality television. Occasionally there will be someone who seems so genuine that you have to admit they are probably exactly as they appear to be on TV...or a VERY good actor, either way these people are the true gems of reality television.

I try and rationalise my obsession, to my friends and myself, hell when my pets look at me funny I try and rationalise it to them too, I am pretty sure Brandy (the dog) is ok with it, but Ninja and Burley... well let's just say you haven't truly been judged and found wanting till you have been judged by two cats who will never forgive you for keeping them locked indoors!

My excuses are simple, I'm a writer and it's great research for character development. Mr Saunders sometimes pretends to believe this one and I would trust he really did believe so much more if I couldn't hear him laughing at me from the other room. My other big justification is I'm not really paying attention, it's just background noise...This excuse would go a lot further if I ever answered my phone or engaged in conversation with Mr Saunders or house guests during the shows. I once answered a call (and only because it was from my mother) with “You're interrupting Masterchef, I’ll call you back”, before promptly hanging up without letting her say a word. Not a moment I'm proud of but we are talking about an addiction here.

It’s not just the show itself that gets me either, all the social media and live tweets that go with reality television are quite riveting, there are so many extraordinarily funny people on twitter all just waiting to get their quips out there. Reality TV is such an interactive sensation these days, the social aspect makes it so much more fun. When Love Comes to Town is a great example of this, if it was just the show itself I don't think I would keep watching, however, add the (mostly) witty or dry humour of fellow Australians and it becomes a very enjoyable hour of entertainment.

Of course I watched these kinds of shows long before I used social media, Facebook and Twitter simply add to the immense pleasure I find in the saccharine fame seeking, humanity destroying, false privilege building, phenomena of reality television.

They say everyone has a vice and this is mine, reality television is my kryptonite, I can make all the excuses under the sun but the truth is I just really like watching it. So I am am sorry Mum for airing my dirty laundry across the internet but that’s my dirty little secret!

Feel like sharing? What's your dirty little secret? Are you brave enough to leave it in the comments below?