Life insurance is a tool. First set the goal you want your life insurance plan to accomplish, then find the policy that achieves your goal, at the most reasonable cost.
Whole Life insurance covers you for your entire lifetime, as long as the premium is paid. And they often build some cash value inside the policy which you may be able to borrow as a loan.
Term Life Insurance only covers you for a certain term or period of time, like 20 years, or 30 years. And if you do not die within that 20-year period, you get nothing - the life insurance coverage ends.
Term Life insurance is the most affordable type of coverage. Typically, people buy life insurance because they have dependents, like a wife and kids. And they like the peace of mind in knowing if they died that there would be the life insurance money available for their wife and kids to help pay bills and provide for their living expenses.
People buy Whole Life to provide for their burial costs, use as an investment, or to leave to their family.