The Influences of Soap Operas On Family Life

The Influences of Soap Operas On Family Life

On at least five nights a week, the nation tune into their boxes,

snuggle up with a cup of tea, and draw their attention to the lives of

some of the country's most talked about families. No, I don't mean the

Royals, the Beckhams or the Blairs, but names like the Mitchells, the

Duckworths or the Bishops. Since the early sixties, people have been

drawn towards the fictional lives of soap families, but why do we love

feeding on other people's misery, and what affect does this have on

our own lives?

People generally have mixed feelings about the influence of soap

operas on family life, and believe that out of the huge variety of

soaps, only a few are suitable for children. This is in fact a

disadvantage to soap operas, as in many households, parents and their

children often argue over what children should and should not be

allowed to watch. Although most people would agree that as well as

their disadvantages, soap operas have benefits to them.

Since the start of 'soap life', the writers have on many occasions,

included matters that have informed the public about important issues.

These include medical problems such as cancer and depression, to

marital problems such as divorce and adultery. As well as these rather

serious issues, soap operas give us an opportunity to escape from our

own lives, and enter a world in which other people's problems seem so

much worse than our own, therefore making us feel much better about

ourselves. Although, as we are drawn towards the melodrama of everyday

television, we sometimes stop and think about how boring our own lives

seem compared to those of the ...

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It is funny that adults often say that children are glued to their

screens nearly all the time, but people don't realise, that in fact

parents are getting just as bad as their children, and this fact

contributes to the reason why the British have generally become a

nation of soap addicts.

To conclude, it has to be said, that our lives are controlled by what

we see, hear, and what we believe, but these beliefs come from small

influences, and sometimes, we as humans don't realise when we have

been made to think something. Soap operas, do in fact have a part to

play in the way that we react to things, therefore, we know that we

are influenced by soap operas, whether this influence is good or bad

is a personal opinion. At the end of the day, our lives, although we

do not realise this, is just one huge Soap Opera.