My family didn't have a TV while I grew up. We had one once, it broke, and my father decided we didn't need another.
As a child this seemed unreasonable and unfair, right up there with not having pizza as often as I wanted, or other similar not-actually-traumatizing problems. Then I became aware of how much time my peers spent staring at TVs, filling their mental spheres with the ephemeral details of forgettable TV entertainment. And none of them were reading anything.
I was very happy we didn't have one.
Later in life I got a TV to watch rental movies. That was great.
Then I tried cable for two years and lived with the dreck for a while. Everything was clearly designed to communicate to stupid people! Even the history and science programs are ridiculously dumbed down.
But the worst by far was the "news". The faux partisan battles that turned into real partisan battles with two (not always equally) incoherent sides. The same people banding together on each side (there are almost always exactly two sides!) of every issue.
BUT worse than the news was the advertising. People are so used to it they don't see it for what it blatantly is. Completely bizarre communication techniques doing only one thing: Brainwashing! Repetition of nonsense phrases, ridiculously happy/sad people, products shown in painfully contrived situations, ...
The problem with news and advertising isn't just that they are misleading, or that they are dumbed down, or that they are designed to be emotionally addictive.
The worst problem is that exposing ourselves to constantly repetitive irrationality creates thinking grooves in our minds. It dumbs us down both in terms of how we think, but even worse, all the higher forms of thinking we never develop, that we are channelled away from.
I quit cable after two years. That was enough for a lifetime lesson. Movies, quality TV series, there are actually enjoyable inspiring things to watch.
But I live a life almost completely devoid of any commercials, and no video news, talks shows, etc., at all.
And by reading I am far more "informed" and more importantly, have a greater, constantly growing "understanding" of people, power, the practical (people) side of economics, etc.
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I don't think it is a coincidence that the massive societal and personal problems associated with video news and a partially egregious scrapbooking web site are both associated with content produced to coerce us to watch advertising we would otherwise never choose to expose ourselves too.
It is all a toxic brew. Avoid all advertising in you life. You will avoid 99% of the junk and be a much better version of yourself.
I have threatened to drop a friendship when a friend kept sending me stupid baiting political memes. He finally understood me: It is not that it was specifically stupid or wrong, it is that I don't tolerate mental poison like that. Not even from a friend.