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4) How realistic is television to teenagers?
Children Now is a nonpartisan policy and media organization for children that acts as a strong and independent voice for children in the public policy arena, in themass media and in the community. They recently interviewed teenagers about their lives and what they saw on television. Here are some of the contrasts:

My real life TV Life
Homework, and taking care of six brothers and sisters Wasting your allowance, blasting the stereo
Badminton, studying for the SATs, maintaining a 3.5 GPA Dating, going to endless parties every night.
Divorce in real life means being alone a lot. Divorce on TV means lots of kids, pets and noise.
Kinda boring to me. Band, basketball, watching television. Dates and skiing trips.
My real Mom works hard. Strict. TV Moms don't deal with real problems. Don't have messed up jobs, but still live in nice homes.
My real Dad is not around. Don't even live that close. TV Dads are real different. They're THERE. Still married to the mothers and in the house
Girls in real life hang out together, play basketball and fight. TV girls are fake, their clothes are too new and their biggest problem is not telling their mom they pierced their ears.
Girls in real life: A lot of them are virgins, not all eager to have sex. Concerned about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy. TV girls: Gorgeous models, jumping in and out of bed with guys.


Source: Children Now (1995), "Children, Values & The Entertainment Media," (Los Angeles, Calif.: Children Now).


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