Role models from traditional TV shows like Full House, Let It To Beaver, and at one point, The Cosby Show, could be a distant memory with the rise of YouTube and families like Shay Carl and FGTeeV showcasing their families how they’d like.

Is this something that is good or bad…or does it matter?

First, let’s look at families over time on TV. From the earliest days, families were portrayed as model units of America with Leave It To Beaver and others of that time period. All In The Family was one of the earliest examples of a radical change of presentation – actually showing a dysfunctional family, which 90% of Americans have.

We continue to get bombarded with more and more shocking families. Game of Thrones anyone? Nothing has been more shocking than the House of Lannister.

The thing they all have in common is the fictional families and writers creating everything a viewer sees.

Certainly, reality television has showcased “real” families but they are still heavily produced and aren’t controlled by the families.

Even with all of that as standard norms, families on television are emulated and role models, whether intentional or not, are created.

The age of YouTube has changed everything. Now, families can have full control over the perception of themselves.

But does that mean we can trust the content more?

Well, I’d reckon that Mr. Sam Rader and his wife are coming to terms with how controlling your own message can go wrong. They recently found their vlogging channel under fire when they tried to fool the kind folks on YouTube. Rader and his wife have been accused of faking a pregnancy and then a miscarriage three days later…all captured for the viewing pleasure of his audience of 360,000 subscribers.

And, now he finds himself in even further trouble with his Ashley Madison uh-oh account.

What this ultimately all means is that no matter what medium you’re watching or who is producing the content, one must make wise choices when looking up to someone. There are good people out there but it’s hard to know what is real and not through your computer or TV screen.