Thesis, Undergraduate (BA Communication Arts) -- U. P. in Mindanao, 2009

The Pinoy Big Brother show premiered in 2005 in the ABS-CBN channel. The show became one of a kind in the country during that time because it showed the "housemates" being under the camera's exposure 24/7. Out of the 24/7 coverage, prime time episodes were also made. With the show's design, it was able to display real-life human interaction, including how the housemates formed relationships with one another. This study examined the first season of Pinoy Big Brother, using the principles of the Social Penetration Theory. Two main concepts of it were taken into great consideration ? the housemates' degree of self-disclosure (breadth, breadth time, depth) and the stage of Social Penetration they had with each other. The results showed that the amount of breadth, breadth time and depth of the housemates studied did not correspond accordingly to their rankings as winners of the show. Also, there were distinct characteristics observed in the way the degrees of self-disclosure were presented by the show. These include the show's editing and the way the housemates behaved. The stage of Social Penetration of the subjects with one another is the Exploratory Affective Exchange stage, where it was observed that the subjects were already past the stage of being acquaintances only, but were not able to reach the stage similar to real-life intimate relationships. There were other characteristics also observed in the show to affect the housemates' self-disclosure. First is the show simulated setting and second is the participants featured in the show. All in all, the Pinoy Big Brother show achieved social penetration, where the social interactions that occurred in the show had unique characteristics, taking a significant consideration of it being a ?reality show?.