It is estimated that the average USA citizen watches the equivalent of 3,000 entire days (nearly 9 years) of television between the ages of 2 and 65: during this time an act of violence is screened every 14 minutes and a killing every 45 minutes. The 1983 daily average family viewing time in the USA was well over 7 hours. This is approximately a 55% increase from 1953, and a 39% increase between 1960 and 1993. Comparable figures are emerging in western Europe where colour, cable and international programming make this form of home entertainment increasingly popular.
Television displaces cognitive activities that shape the mind beneficially, leaving the cognitive faculties unexercised, although highly visually stimulated. Complex linguistic input, and tandem comprehension and language production are missing, leading to attention deficit disorders.
Infants as young as 10 months old watching certain kinds of television programmes are helped learn language skills, the ability to perform physical tasks and an understanding that what they are watching is related to the rest of life around them.
Television doesn't make kids stupid, it just channels their intelligence in non-verbal directions.