First of all I feel that television does present life as it really is in some shows, such as Dr. Quinn, Roc, Matlock, and the local news. I think that televisions broadcasting stations should put on some shows which present life as it really is, because this way other people who may not be experiencing the same type of lifestyle can see how or what other people's lifestyles may consist of. I feel that some shows presenting life as it really is should be put on television also, because then these who are experiencing a better lifestyle than someone else, can face the facts, respect that person's lifestyle and try to help that or those persons to better their lifestyle if they wish to live a better life. Also people get to see that nobody lives a perfect life even though it may seem that way sometimes.

On the other hand, I feel that often in television programmes life is not presented as it really is. Examples of some of these shows are The Fresh Prince of Bell-Air, Murphy Brown, RoseAnn, Family Matters, Full House, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper etc. Most of these shows are based on lives which were created to be how most people would want to live. This is why some people watch these shows, because they are watching actors portray a lifestyle in which they themselves would want to live, or perhaps to escape from the unhappiness of their own lives.

I think it is good that most television programmes do not present life as it really is because then there would be no funny or exciting television programmes to look at. If television broadcasting stations only showed television programmes which did present life as it really is, then television could become boring and dull to some people, depressing and traumatising to other people, and some may just not be interested in watching other people's life stories on television. I also think it is good to put television programmes like this on television because these shows are a good source of cheap entertainment and they can help some people to relax.

It is still good to put on television programmes which do present life as it really is, because this way people can face the facts and problems of the different kinds of lifestyles in the world today.

Shannah Butterfield 4 North Warwick Academy