Write an essay about mass media, using the following plan. write min. 15 sentences. be prepared to speak up on this topic. plan: what is mass media? means of mass media. advantages and disadvantages of different types of mass media. my favourite type of mass media.

whether we realize it or not, tv plays a very important part in our lives. it's the main source of information and a cheap form of entertainment for millions of people. it's the window on the world which gives us an opportunity to "travel" all over the world, to "meet" different people and learn about their customs and traditions. it has the power to educate and broaden our minds. it helps us to relax after a hard day's work and escape from reality as there's always a great variety of programmes on tv: news and sports programmes, talk shows and tv games, documentaries and feature films, concerts and theatre but at the same tame we become more and more addicted to the tv.

today it’s not a secret that there is at least one tv set in 98% of american households, and many have two or three. and of course, television influences people’s mental picture of the world, especially their perceptions of distant events. this is particularly true for younger viewers, who rely heavily on television for their understanding of the world beyond their neighborhood. as the predominant mass medium, television is greatly criticized for failing to provide  a complete, unbiased picture of reality. some individuals and citizens' groups have expressed concern about the level of violence in television programmes, particularly in action-adventure series and cartoons. they argue that viewers, especially children, may learn to see violence as the only way to resolve conflicts. and this is partially confirmed by researches.

some argue that parents are responsible for supervising their children's tv viewing. but how? children are often watching television when their parents are either not in the room or even at home. many parents think they can use the help in monitoring what their children see. the reality is that one in four families is headed by a single parent, and in two-thirds of two-parent families, both parents are working. furthermore, nearly 50 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 17 have their own tv sets in their bedrooms. on the one hand tv became an indication of both material wealth and the individual freedom (the us), on the other hand it became a trap for children. not noticing how they are becoming “couch potatoes” and tv maniacs. children are reading less today, they just do not know how wonderful and interesting it is to read. instead they spend hours in front of the "box" watching whatever's on — from second-rate mexican soap operas to silly commercials. the situation is that they rather watch a baseball game on tv than go play softball in the park with friends or even go to a movie. the irony is that although american television seems to promote images of slender, physically fit people, the more people watch tv, the less likely they are to exercise. some people spend much of their free time lying on the couch watching tv and eating junk food. as a result, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are now common among young women. many teenage girls have become insecure about their bodies and obsessed with losing weight.

the trick is to learn to control television and use it intelligently. the ideal is to turn on the tv-set only when there's a really interesting programme. if you don't like a certain programme, why watch it? why should you waste your free time on it if you can enjoy yourself in a more proper way? from all these we come to the conclusion that the impact of tv is great and we should not watch one and all but filter the useful information so that television would be not a dead but helpful hand.

Good health is very important for every person. moreover, there is nothing more important than health. wise people even say: “health is above wealth”, because if you don’t care of your health, you can’t study or work properly. unfortunately, having perfect health is almost impossible nowadays. due to highly polluted environment people suffer from many diseases. the best way to stay healthy is to do regular morning exercise, to eat healthy products, to sleep at least 8 hours a day and to quit bad habits. the good thing is that people are becoming more health-conscious. in my opinion, the number of smoking and alcohol drinking people is decreasing in our country. this is happening because people started to understand how dangerous these two bad habits are. obesity is another health problem. people, who eat lots of fattening food and do almost no exercise, are often overweight. a healthy diet involves many fruit and vegetables, seafood and wholegrain products. salt, sugar and fat should be avoided. excessive dieting can be also dangerous. some people refuse to eat meat and become vegetarian. however, doctors say that meat is an excellent source of good nutrition. to my mind, one of the best ways to stay healthy and fit is to go in for various sports. my favourite sport is swimming. i spend a lot of time in the swimming-pool. i think it revitalizes my body and gives me energy for the whole day. other sports i enjoy are cross-country skiing and figure-skating. to stay healthy, it is also important to spend lots of time in the open air. it is especially useful to go for a walk before going to bed. following these simple rules regularly is the only way to promote our health.