Shark Week Has Begun: Are You a Fan? (POLL)

Every time Shark Week rolls around, my Facebook news feed gets barraged with excited status updates.

The Discovery Channel began its annual program dedicated all things shark-related on Sunday night. It's the 25th anniversary of the popular week-long program. 

While many people seem to love it, not everybody is on board. My brother, who loves The Discovery Channel, hates Shark Week for the very same reason so many people love it: Constant sharks for an entire week. 

“Are sharks and their stories really changing that much every year?” my brother, Travis Cox, told me in a text message. “It’s not like Discovery Channel never talks about sharks when it’s not Shark Week. I watched Shark Week once. I’m good!”

How about you? Are you a fan? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments. Does my brother have a point, or not? 

Here's a bit more information about the full week of programming: 

The 25^th season of Shark Week premiered on Sunday. The week will be filled with documentaries and special shows, including How Jaws Changed the World, which looks at the ramifications of Peter Benchley's bestseller and the movie it inspired, as well as how it contributed to the vilification of sharks.

There is also a LIVE Shark Cam feed you can watch and get a first-hand look at these creatures. Click here to view the USTREAM  live video of sharks (and many other marine animals) in the Ocean Voyager exhibit at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

The feed will be live throughout August, and daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. PST.  Beginning on Monday, you can tune in for live diver Q&A sessions starting at 9:30 p.m. PST and watch daily whale shark feedings at 7:30 a.m. and 12 p.m. PST — every week day during Shark Week. 

Swimming with sharks took on a new meaning a few months ago when a YouTube video, went viral showing a 5-year-old girl named Anaia whose parents allowed her to swim, even though supervised, with several types of sharks while on vacation.

At the time, her mother said they are simply an adventurous family. However, since the video has circulated, there has been a backlash from other parents calling them irresponsible. They posted to video share with family and friends but never expected it to go viral. 

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