TV substitutes an artificial world in place of the real thing. People thus get out of touch with their true nature and genuine experience. Hence TV viewers are are much more susceptable to the advertisers and the image makers. Mander has had much experience in advertising,and he explains that if something is advertised we don't need it. Those things we really need we go and find anyway.
Advertising creates false needs.
Although TV was invented in the 1920's, it had no practical use until after 1945.The consumer society was developed in order to take up the economic slack after the War. However, people were used to saving their spare cash, not spending it. TV was seized upon as a potent vehicle to promote a consumption lifestyle. Advertising and programs relentlessly pushed the nuclear family in a suburban house with the latest gadgets as the ideal way to live. TV is not harmless entertainment, it is a powerful tool used to shape people's lives by vested interests.