Challis Hodge’s UXblog

In a clever move the folks over at CBS apparently leveraged a loophole in the New Mexico labor law to film a reality TV show with 40 kids during the school year. They basically declared the production a summer camp.

Premieres Wednesday September 19th at 8PM on CBS
40 children, 40 days, no adults—eager to prove they can build a better world for tomorrow in the new reality series KID NATION. Settling in Bonanza City, New Mexico, once a thriving mining town but now deserted, these kids, ages 8 to 15 and from all walks of life, will build their own new world, pioneer-style. They will confront grown-up issues while coping with the classic childhood emotions of homesickness, peer pressure and the urge to break every rule. Episodes end with a town meeting in which the kids award one child a gold star worth $20,000, all leading to the grand finale, with an unimaginable test, the biggest awards and a special surprise for every child.

All kind of potential learning for these kids and all kind of potential damage. I would anticipate they’ve mitigated most of the physical risk. That leaves room for the psychological damage. Since many of these children will go on to be famous, this will be just the beginning of the psychological stress so many child stars experience. We as a society have some strange boundaries and social norms with respect to entertainment