When is reality not reality? When it is on TV. Many Americans find themselves feeling more and more wary of common everyday situations. The recent influx of reality shows of all shapes and sizes, running from the bizarre to the mundane, have created an unspoken mistrust in social groups and situations.

The new fear is that your world is being watched by cameras, and the circumstances and coincidences in your world are controlled to make the best possible reality TV series. This is known as “Observaphobia”. The fear is debilitating and sufferers live in a state of constant fear. At any given moment they believe a sudden misfortune or twist will throw their world off kilt, followed by all of their trusted allies and friends, emerging from the wings holding microphones and laughing hard at their expense. Symptoms of Observaphobia are, paranoia, nausea, fast pulse, agitation, clumsiness and the desire to end all conversations and meetings with a joke.

If you or someone you know suffers from Observaphobia there is hope; new laws are being enacted to prevent reality entrapment. The World Order Governing Body of Entertaining Reality Television (WOGBERT) has been established by a coalition of 84 countries. It is hoped that WOGBERT can bring a set of standard rules and regulatory practices to the production of reality TV. One of their 1st orders of business when they convene in late 2005 is to establish the primary rule of reality TV. If the subject asks you of the presence of reality TV directly, you must let them know that they are being filmed.

The Axis of Stevil, while weary of large government and overregulation, feels that simple guidelines can bring order and refinement into a stagnant, over populated genre of television; as well as rest the fears of millions of Observaphobia sufferers.