We are being invaded and we do not even know that it is happening. Television has been ruining our lives before we could even speak. Although the American Pediatric Association recommends that children under the age of two watch no television, in 1998 the Neilsen Company reported that children two years of age and under watched around six hours of television each week. In the November 1993 issue of Harper's magazine, Benjamin Barber asked children aged four to six whether they would rather spend time with their fathers or watching television. A shocking 54 percent choose to watch television.
Television is the ultimate pop culture propaganda machine.
According to the February 1998 Consumer Reports children in the United States see over 360,000 television commercials before they graduate from high school. That amounts to 360,000 messages invading the minds of children with no goal other than influencing the purchasing of products. These messages do not tell children not to smoke or do drugs or drink alcohol or stay in school or practice nonviolence or embrace diversity. No, these messages serve the sole purpose of taking advantage of children so that companies can make money. And as people get older the advertisements get even worse.