The most famous book of all time is commonly thought to be Darwin’s The Origin of Species in which he describes the theory of ‘survival of the fittest’. Everyday on the television, we see reality shows where a group of people struggle to survive, sometimes both physically and emotionally, with a group of strangers. Shows such as Big Brother and Castaway test the human limit of each individual while we watch with amazement and predict how we would survive in the same situation.

So why this preoccupation with survival? Well, the obvious answer is that we are indeed very interested in how others survive in order to learn from other people’s mistakes in maintaining our own survival.

But why the sudden fascination in recent years? When we look at the face of it, our lives are a lot more fortunate, and survival is a lot more probable then, say, in the early 1940s, when our ancestors were at war. In a time where death and suffering was on their doorstep, they didn’t want to switch on the television to see more people struggle to survive. They wanted to be able to escape the harsh reality they lived in, by for example, watching comedy. Although most of us are not paralysed by fear for one’s own life or for the lives of their loved ones, we still have our personal struggles. So why do we now have such a desire to watch reality TV shows where people’s lives are pushed to the limit?

I believe it is due to a shift from a physical to an emotional struggle in today’s society. We are still focused on survival but in a different way. No more is there the simple ‘life and death’ distinction in continuing our lives. Whereas before the quality of life was almost irrelevant in the fight for physical survival, now ‘quality of life’ means everything. In our complicated lives, we take pleasure in watching programmes where the struggle seems simple:  to succeed or fail, to live or die.

Surrounded by choice and temptations, we are left confused and often unsure of our decisions. We still have the instinct to fight without the clear goal of what we should be fighting for, often leaving us frustrated. Suddenly we enter adulthood having to deal with decisions such as mortgages, loans, insurance, where to live, which career to choose – all in a world where people are out to make you buy their product. In such a complicated world we yearn after a world where the goal is simple:  to survive.

So what will become of this confused and disappointing world we live in? For all eternity will we continue to spend our lives sifting through information in an attempt to separate the good from the bad, the right decisions from the wrong decisions? Will we continue to dream of a ‘fairy godmother’ that will make the right decision for us to have the quality of life we dream of? I believe that, at some point, though perhaps gradually, this state of chaos and confusion has to cease. Sometime in the future, probably many centuries away, we will turn away from technology and the choices and promises it brings, while we get back to understanding the basics:  how to survive.