What did I do differently from other kids that day? I simply stopped. I stopped, looked around, and analyzed situation. And I left herd. I saw quickly that it was to my advantage NOT to follow herd that day.

Leaving TV herd

In 2003 I left herd again in a much bigger way. I got rid of my TV. I am one of those rare few that do not have a TV, by choice. And I am reaping benefits of being TV-free.

The reason? In 2001, kids and I were without TV for several months. Like I did when I was little, I stopped. This time I took notice of changes in my children and myself during time we did not have a TV. Then when we got it back, I took notice of changes again. Based on my observations, I decided we were better off without a TV. Stop and observe YOUR family

But it does not matter what TV does to me or my kids. It does not matter that numerous studies show TV's links to obesity, illiteracy, consumerism, etc. The real question is: How does TV affect you and your family? Find out by stopping and observing.

Zombie kids

1) Television itself inhibits functioning of left brain rational analysis. 2) The television media has become centralized into a few huge media conglomerates.

Most people are aware of consolidation of media industry. However, people are only dimly aware of TV's inhibition of left brain functioning. Try this experiment. Right now. Critically review three of news stories you watched on TV last night. Ready. Set. Go!

So, only a few perspectives are presented on TV news, and when viewers like yourself watch this news, they are inhibited from logically analyzing stories. That is terrible news for democracy. Democracy needs informed citizens that can analyze and discuss different views of a situation.

I use a few simple guidelines to get a picture of what is going on in world. These do require a little more effort than parking in front of a TV set and mindlessly absorbing images, but not too much more.

Reading is more efficient

The first step is to start reading, instead of watching, your news. Television generally takes a lot of time to get across a little bit of information. With reading you can absorb information much faster. A five minute story on news can be read online or in newspaper generally in less than a minute. The spare time can be used to analyze story.

Get several quality news sources

The next step in developing a good picture of world is to get several good news sources. Begin with a mainstream newspaper or website to simply get an idea of basic issues that are at stake.

Then, select a couple of alternative news sources outside mainstream. I am not going to recommend a particular source, because I do not wish to become engaged in liberal/conservative partisan discussions. These distinctions start to fall away once you start to analyze news for yourself anyway.

Analyze information