We have a problem, people. A problem with our television sets.

Actually, I feel no animosity toward the sets themselves. The developments in television technology never fail to astound me, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

But the things that appear on my screen have started to bum me out more and more. I have always kind of felt this way, but the whole thing turned very clear when I saw a promo for a new show starring Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Those unfamiliar with Mr. Lochte’s work might have trouble telling the difference between clips of his show and a Saturday Night Live skit. The whole thing looks incredibly awkward and painful, mainly because Lochte is about as smart and engaging as the goggles he wears in competition.

But for some reason, folks have decided that we need to see a show following him around as he tries to market himself, meet women and create absurd catch phrases. And to make things worse, some folks have decided they want to watch this.

I need to tread carefully here because I count some of those folks as friends. But I just can’t get behind this continuing trend of tuning in to watch real people do stupid things instead of watching actors pretending to be people doing stupid things.

This kind of programming will always exist. It has a lot longer than the current reality show trend. But I can’t fathom how we can let it continue to grow and grow. Do we really need to see comics and football players dive? Don’t we know these aren’t really housewives? Aren’t we pretty much sure we know what Ryan Lochte would do, and it bothers us?

I know a lot of people tune into these things to make themselves feel better, to laugh at the problems other people have navigating through daily life. I totally get the escapism factor.

Sometimes even I contribute to the problem. Each summer, I watch “Big Brother.” I tune into “Pawn Stars” way more than I should. I even watched the first season of “The Jersey Shore.”

But with each success, the people making these shows dig further and further toward the bottom of the barrel. If people liked the crazy antics of some uncouth kids living at the beach, let’s make them famous and crank out four or five seasons. If people tune into watch “stars” dance, what other skill can we test? That swimmer had a funny soundbite – let’s build a whole show around him.

Sometimes people decry the 1990s because networks gave out far too many sitcoms to comedians who could not translate their jokes into a TV show. But at least those people set out to make people laugh. The new trend makes us chuckle just by trying to handle daily life, at least when we’re not hanging out heads in shame because kids might actually start to say “Jeah!” in public.

Don’t ask. It’s as dumb as it sounds.

So let’s use these magical boxes for good and not evil and turn the dial (or push the remote buttons) to something a little more productive. That’s what I want Ryan Lochte to do, after all.