Many people will argue about the authenticity of so-called reality television, though it’s generally agreed that most shows are a product of sly editing. While the people who appear on such programs may be normally ordinary individuals, they’ve been placed into a neatly packaged and marketed bit of onscreen wizardry. Vital scenes that provide explanatory context are cut out from the final showing, while dramatic conflicts are overemphasized and overblown with camera close-ups, booming musical scores and general prestidigitation. Consequently, easily impressionable viewers are misled into believing this and that about the people they see on the TV screen, seemingly unaware that the cast’s actions on an hour-long program do not necessarily equate with how they choose to live the rest of their lives.

Many reality series stars can find a lot to read about themselves online in blogs and forums, even though most of it is often just opinionated commentary, with no real impact and who they are as people. When the series fans or critics manage to get hold of personal contact information, however, is when things can get rather bothersome. Parisa Montazaran previously appeared as a cast member of the MTV reality television series The Real World, and she has had the unpleasant experience of her own private phone number getting exposed to the public.

In a discussion with the Watching MTV online blog, she recalled how someone had written down her phone number on the wall of a club named McCoys. When numerous people saw the number and discovered whose it was, she began receiving a series of sleep-disrupting calls late at night from complete strangers who either wanted to commiserate or criticize. Many of them seemed to be drunk as they railed on to her against Dunbar, saying she should never have gotten close to him in the first place. Montazaran has found it amusing, since for her, the production of the show already ended some time ago.