by Maggie West

Created on: November 17, 2008   Last Updated: December 26, 2008

Perhaps, the question should be, "How much of our children's upbringing are we willing to entrust to someone else?" Many behaviors are learned: Attitude, ethics, loyalty and adherence to certain cultural, moral, and social codes. I could go on and on, however, what it all boils down to is that television was developed for entertainment purposes, nothing more. In this day and age, through excessive use, it has become a substitute for parenting, teaching, and even a dispenser of morality.

Mass media in the United States is owned by forty individuals - a mere forty people. And if one counts those who are related by birth or through marriage the list gets much smaller. Television, newspaper, print, and radio are all owned by this diminutive coterie. They can, and do, exploit these media for personal gain. They are able to dictate the latest fashion; shape collective mindset; and relate erroneous, or even, dishonest data in order to achieve a common goal - their common goal.

A simple example of this is: A manufacturer of clothing has created a new design, a new style. A successful marketing campaign entails approaching a meager portion of mass media's ownership with promises of exchanged favors and/or funds. Voila! The design sells by the millions/billions during its debut season. There are other opinions regarding the (mis)use of such power, to be sure. So many, it can boggle one's mind.

Is this not harmful for people in general? Is being misinformed, used as lab-rats for mind control, and having our attitudes and opinions misdirected and misguided good?

If the answer is no, then what does television add to a child's healthy development? Anything?

Research shows that children under 2 years of age shouldn't watch any television (see The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP). And that those who are older than two should only view 2 hours or less of quality programming. The key phrase here is "quality programming."

First hand, and quite often, I have witnessed the misinformation and omissions in televised historical documentaries and re-enactments. There's no comparing it to "doing the research" and reading the relevant material. Even authors have biased opinions. Books, however, have bibliographies (if they don't proceed with caution), television does not. One must weed through the propaganda in order to find real answers, real history, and real news.

It has, also, been proven that sitting in front of the "idiotbox" leads to aggressive behavior, obesity, risky behaviors,

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