When People Humiliate Themselves, On Purpose

I don't see clearly why people open themselves up to humiliation for a slice of fame. And I'm not talking even about real fame (like the chicks hooking up with that stupid Jon Gosselin dude), although those people register on a complete new scale of idiot. I should author that scale now that I think about it...

Just this morning I was listening to a local radio station where listeners were allowing the DJ's to read through their email inbox live on air. You'd THINK the people allowing for this public revelation to take place would clean out their emails or be sure there is nothing embarrassing. Nope. Instead they allowed the live reading of things that only belong in private. And for what? The chance to have their name on the radio. The radio! That's like the lowest rung of media these days...but still with a big enough local audience driving through rush hour sipping on some coffee thanking the heavens they didn't turn out so desperate for attention that they must resort to cheesy DJ jokes. What are the odds the same girl revealing her emails also has a sex tape leaked on the internet? I'm guessing at least an 85% chance yes.

The question is- why? Are we influenced and motivated into complete self degregation by our neverending consumption of reality television stars? Watching Lauren Conrad's "career" makes me wonder if being a total moron in public is beneficial. After all, she probably has enough money for the material things I'm still trying to figure out how to gain (a white Porsche, a person to blow-dry my hair daily, and person to manage my mail). For her, I can kinda see it. Look at her hair extensions! They're perfect. But for the people just doing humiliating things to get on local radio- there is no pay-off. Crappy tickets to a crappy concert? Really?