DATE: Wednesday, September 17, 1997         TAG: 9709170053

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEPHEN KIEHL, STAFF WRITER

                                            LENGTH:   96 lines

A LITTLE TOO "REAL" ODU STUDENTS ARE ADDICTED TO WATCHING MTV SHOWS ABOUT THE LIVES OF FELLOW GENERATION X'ERS

CALLER ID WAS invented for moments like these. The trials and tribulations of seven telegenic young people in Boston are playing out on the ancient 19-inch RCA television screen when the phone rings.

``Wait, wait,'' says Jessica Mirra, 21. She looks at her Caller ID and tells one of her fellow TV watchers, ``It's your brother. Let it ring.''

When the phone rings again several minutes later, Karen Winslow, 21, takes the call. She chats as her friends try to concentrate on the show.

``Go in the other room if you're gonna be on the phone,'' someone says.

Winslow quickly gets off the phone, promising to call back at the next commercial break.

If it's 10 p.m. on Wednesday, you'll find these nine Old Dominion University students gathered to ignore their real world - and the phone - and watch ``The Real World.''

Now in its sixth year, the MTV show that pulls together seven very different Gen-Xer's to share an apartment and have every moment recorded on videotape is as popular as ever among its target demographic: 18-to-24-year-olds.

An MTV spokeswoman said the network does not release ratings numbers for its shows, but she said ``The Real World'' is one of their highest-rated programs and has had consistently high ratings for all six seasons.

The students gathered in Mirra's Ghent apartment fit into the demographic MTV is courting: young and with money to spend. The students have trouble, though, articulating why they watch a show supposedly about the real world when they are living in it every day.

``We're addicted. We watch it every week,'' says Mirra, a senior from Stafford. ``You get to see the inside scoop of what's going on.''

While the guys question how real it all really is - having cameras recording 70 hours of your life every week isn't exactly normal - some of it still rings true.

``I like being able to relate my own life to their lives, to see that they have problems, too,'' says Aimee Barber, 19, a sophomore from Arlington. ``It's nice to see people going through the same things that you deal with every day.''

Of course, there are some differences between these ODU students and the Boston-based MTV cast. Like paying rent. The ODU students fork over hundreds of dollars every month to live in apartments or fraternity houses. ``The Real World'' cast lives in a trendy, remodeled firehouse in the quaint Beacon Hill section of Beantown. MTV picks up the tab.

The ODU-ers have typical names - Sean, Jay, Jen, Nicole. But ``The Real World'' is inhabited by Genesis, Elka, Montana and Kameelah. And that's just the girls.

And while the students balance studying with part-time jobs, the MTV crew does not have jobs or responsibilities. They are only required to volunteer at a community center together.

That provided the central plot for a recent episode, in which a ``Real World'' member, Syrus, began dating the mother of a boy in the after-school program at the center. Syrus' roommates thought it was a conflict of interest and that he should end the relationship.

As the tension mounts, the ODU students lean forward on their couch. Their boos and hisses drown out the TV's sound.

``They're all just jealous,'' says Sean Huggins, 21.

``Man, if I was there, I'd move out,'' adds 20-year-old Travis Frederick.

Winslow, 21, the junior from Chesapeake, sees it differently: ``Syrus is a typical guy. Some guys are jerks, and he's one of them.''

The drug of choice for these kids - and the ones on MTV - is cigarettes. At every commercial break, several students head to the second-floor balcony to light up.

On screen, Jason, the 24-year-old who's the hippest of the group, dangles a cigarette between his fingers while discussing sex or philosophy or some combination of the two. Jason wears black eyeshadow, writes beat poetry and has a nose ring.

The three guys in Mirra's apartment don't wear eyeshadow, though one has an earring. Still, they - and the women - say they identify with ``Real World'' characters.

That's the point, say TV experts and critics, whose lambasting of the show for years hasn't dampened its popularity. Young viewers like to view people just like themselves.

``People are always interested in their peer groups and what they're doing,'' said Stuart Fischoff, a professor of media psychology at California State University in Los Angeles. ``It's a kind of electronic gossip. People like to see people like them doing the same things. The younger you are, the more in need you are of that validation.''

Fischoff also points out that ``The Real World'' is not boring like much of life. The editors cull each 24-minute episode from the most sexy, dramatic footage of weeks of taping.''

Back at Mirra's apartment, the closing credits appear over pictures of Syrus and the woman who caused so much trouble. The Indigo Girls song ``Shame on You'' comes on. Mirra and her friends go wild over the none-too-subtle message.

``The soap opera continues,'' says Sean Huggins, all voice-over smooth. ``Keeps me watching for next week.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Beth Bergman/The Virginian-Pilot

[students watching TV]

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