Neil Postman begins his book with the poignant statement, "Children
             are the living messages we send to a time we will not see" (Postman xi).
             Unfortunately, as the book consistently notes, childhood is rapidly
             disappearing around the world. Postman often notes children are no longer
             allowed to be "children," they are products of a society based more and
             more on the media, and the media presents an adult world of aggression,
             violence, sex, and adulthood that is pervasive and difficult to ignore. In
             addition to the media pressure to grow up quickly, there is increasing
             societal pressure for children to achieve, achieve, achieve at an early
             age. Tales of preschoolers hauled around from dance class, to art class,
             to reading class, and finally to swimming practice are no longer simply
             urban tales of wealthy excess. They are the normal lifestyle for millions
             of children, who no longer have time to be children.
             There are many factors in this disappearance of childhood, and Postman
             maintains one of the largest factors is the American media - especially
             television. Watching television has become more than a pastime. Harried
             mothers use television, VHS tapes, and DVDs as a modern babysitter for
             babies to teens. Turn on the television, and turn off the world, because
             television tends to alter or deny thinking. Viewers suspend their beliefs
             and turn off their brains, as noted in class viewers cannot think the same
             way when they watch television, for their brains do not function the same
             way. Television puts images into our brains, and removes our own thoughts
             and images. Television removes reaction, comment, decision, and
             reflection. Viewers simply watch what is on the screen and accept it,
             whether it is violence, aggression, death, or sex. The 6 o'clock news is
             little different from the violent action film showing at 9 o'clock, or the
             football game on Monday nights. Child...