As in the case of Scott Amedure, a gay man who was gunned down by the man whom he had a crush on after revealing his feelings on the Jenny Jones show in 1999 and talk show guests who have lost weight due to encouragement from hosts, talk shows can sometimes have a huge effect on the real lives of participants.
Talk shows sometimes perpetuate negative stereotypes in the interest of better ratings. In other cases, hosts attempt to enlighten guests about the dangers of stereotyping.
Talk show guests are sometimes coached to exaggerate their problems for the sake of TV, as was revealed in a documentary called "The Springer Hustle" about the Jerry Springer show.
According to a study done by the Journal of Communication, adolescents overestimate how often people participate in deviant behaviors based on their viewing of talk shows. It also said that they do not become desensitized due to these shows, which is a positive finding.
Watching too many talk shows regularly can make you lazy, stop you from being active, and even cause weight gain due to lack of exercise. This is where the term "couch potato" comes from.