Even children can be harmed by TV shows and movies that make life
seem unrealistically perfect. In one survey, published by Parents Today,
children were asked about their own lives both before and after
watching three episodes of Ronald!, a show featuring an 11-year-old
boy who flies his own helicopter to school and lives in a bedroom that
is also a skateboard park. Although they reported that they enjoyed the
show, the children, ages 8-13, ranked their own lives as less cool, fun,
and interesting after watching the episodes. On the other hand,
children who watched shows without unrealistically perfect characters
- including T and the Rexes, a cartoon series about dinosaurs, and
Littleton Street, a realistic program about a group of neighborhood
friends - did not report any decrease in happiness with their own lives.
Where in an argumentative