Soap Opera Tragedy

I've watched lots of TV over the years, but one thing I can't understand is the fascination with soap operas.  They're hard to define, but to me, they're shows with amateur actors and lots of melodrama about things that don't make sense with relationships, secrets, etc.  The first time I was exposed to soap operas was when my sisters constantly used to watch Days of Our Lives and Passions after school.  And while they were interesting because of their plot, that's about the only positive I could say about it besides the fact they usually had good looking casts.  The plot, while interesting, was terrible, the music didn't add anything, and the effects on some of the shows were so unbelievable, that they made me question if I was watching an Ed Wood film.

As time progressed, my feelings about soap operas began to change because of shows like The O.C.  They had similar issues as other soap operas, but at the time, something about it seemed different.  The cast was good looking, but seemed rugged.  And the plot, while unbelievable at times, at least seemed like it could happen to real people, compared to what I used to watch on Days of Our Lives and Passions.  With time, I eventually stopped watching the O.C., but eventually began to miss it as time passed by.  Once I re-watched it again though, I understood why I stopped.  It just wasn't that good anymore.

Now, with my sisters being home, I've been exposed to Degrassi; a show that isn't really a soap opera, but seems like it with how long it's been on the air and the ridiculousness of it.  I haven't seen enough episodes to really critique it (because why would I), but I hate the fact these shows exist!  They might be entertaining to viewers, but they're a waste of time.  What merit do they have?  Do they teach any morals?  I remember coming home from school as a child and being able to find quality TV programming that was either educational or taught lessons I could use in real life.  But now, it's all this soap opera garbage, which is the biggest tragedy out of all of this.