In doctor Daniel G. Amen's book "Magnificent Mind at Any Age" he uses brain scan imagery and case studies over decades to discuss types of mental health issues, treatments (natural and pharmaceutical) while laying out the do's and don't for brain health.
One of Amen's discoveries is that watching television regularly reduces brain function as much as smoking marijuana regularly! Often, these activities go "hand in hand" so who is to say the net loss ; )
Television is like a drug in that it induces passive receptive states of mind while functioning like meditation altering brain chemistry. The stimulation from television can cause dependency over time. The brain learns to need it to function "normally". The more time spent watching television, the more mediated your perceptions become as the images on television move and change far faster than in reality. This, I posit adds to ADD and ADHD issues in our society as we are programmed to constantly change our perspective and perceptions unnaturally.
Both audio and imagery are optimized to transmit a message as subliminally as possible. The mere fact that television causes passive receptive states of mind, means we are taking information in without thinking much about it or filtering it, so it literally programs us! Not only this, but advertisers take it a step further by compressing audio to sound louder in commercials to get your attention and also using basic human desires to associate product with personal fulfillment. Your material desires, including financial, sexual, and reputation are vied for by each and every advertiser during commercials. Now channels advertise with pop ups during regular television as well. The science behind marketing, media, and advertising is state of the art, and constantly being refined to gain greater control over your thoughts, feelings, beliefs and actions to make the most dependent consumers possible.
Norm Chomsky discusses how media was invented to control the minds of the masses and create mindless consumers out of us. What I see, too, is that are lives, not only what we buy are being affected and controlled.
Movie has become the new religion of our society. people find their sense of otherness and understanding from the movies they watch. Movie stories have replaced biblical stories in much of our sense of selves, not only individually, but collectively as well.
The bottom line is that those in power, those who have the money to control the government are using media, internet, television, movies to control society and maintain wealth and power over everyone. As Niestche posited Religion was the opiate of the masses, film and media have replaced religion in becoming the dominant opiate of the masses! So whether you sit down to watch a movie, surf the internet, or watch television and spark up a joint or not, you are losing brain function as those in power gain more power over us breeding an apathetic society which is most easy to control!