Just because the TV said so Does not mean it is...

 

“”The researchers sat through 40 episodes of the “The Dr. Oz Show”; from those, they identified 479 separate recommendations he or his guests made to his TV audience. After winnowing the selection down to more forceful recommendations, they randomly selected 80 and weighed them against the existing medical literature, evaluating each claim for “consistency and believability.” Only 46 percent of the advice, they found, had evidence supporting it, and just 33 percent of the time were those claims supported by “believable or somewhat believable evidence.” For just more than 1 in 3 recommendations, they weren’t able to find any supporting information at all (despite, they note, “being quite liberal in the type and amount of evidence we required”).

Interestingly, the researchers noted that about 58 to 59 percent of the time, Oz never specified the supposed benefit of what he was recommending — the implication, apparently, being that viewers should do things simply because the TV doctor is telling them to. They observed as well that the show rarely detailed the potential harms and costs of recommendations; thus, they write, “anyone who followed the advice provided would be doing so on the basis of a trust in the host or guest rather than through a balanced explanation of benefits, harms, and costs.”’”

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/19/scientists_prove_that_you_shouldnt_trust_anything_dr_oz_says/

It’s in TV so it must be true. It’s in the Newspapers so it must be true. TV has always been a clever way for companies or people to make money. With shows like DR. OZ and Oprah it is mostly based on trusting the person presenting the stuff and not whether the products being sold actually works.

And as we can see from the article above, most of the things being presented have no real proof if it works or not and the only reason why you would buy it is because the person on the TV said so, It does not have to based on actual facts. With this there are people behind the scenes cashing in on people who trust the TV.

It’s the same with the news – you cannot know how true the story is unless it’s actually about you personally. I have had the experience of a newspaper writing an article about us and the end result turned out to be 100% opposite to the actual facts. Yet, it’s in the paper and people believe it to be true.

The point I’m making here is that you cannot trust anything solely based on “Its TV so it must be true”. The same with newspapers and even the stuff you buy in the stores – just because it’s not the shelves does not mean it’s safe to eat. The only real way of knowing if something is true or not is to go and investigate yourself which is something that is simply not practical for most of us. And this leaves us with a dilemma, because how do you then know if it’s true?

So, next time you see something on TV that tells you to buy this great and amazing thing – first do your research and investigation and do not simply trust what the TV tells you.

Day 226: Please! Stop with the Advertising!!!

 

 

It is everywhere – Ads have managed their way into almost every part of our daily lives. When I Was a kid the only Ads I saw was on TV. Most of my free time was spent playing outside so when we were young were not bombarded with the magnitude of Ads people see today.

We do not have a TV anymore, but I still see plenty ads everyday even though I live on a farm. When I turn on my radio in the car – There are Ads. As I drive through town – There are Ads. When I am on Facebook – there are Ads. When I look at news on the Internet – There are Ads. When I do a Google Search – There are Ads. When I download a free app for my phone – There are Ads. Checking emails – Spam Ads. Receiving SMS – Spam Ads.

It’s really getting out of hand. As a kid when I went to watch a movie on the big screen the only Ads they showed were future releases of movies. Now there are all kinds of Advertisements before the movie even starts. They are even Advertising in Schools! On School buses, in gymnasiums, on book covers, and even in bathroom stalls.

“School advertising also appears under the guise of educational TV: Channel One. Currently available in 12 000 schools, Channel One consists of 10 minutes of current-events programming and 2 minutes of commercials. Advertisers pay $200 000 for advertising time and the opportunity to target 40% of the nation's teenagers for 30 seconds.⁸⁹ According to a recent government report, Channel One now plays in 25% of the nation's middle and high schools⁸¹ and generates profits estimated at $100 million annually.^{89” - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/118/6/2563.full}

Sneaky – Very Sneaky. Now a days when a child has the ability to hold a cellular device or tablet they are exposed to many, many advertisements. That’s children as young as 2 or 3 years old that are already being targeted al for companies to make profit. And Advertisements have become extremely effective over the years – you see it and you are like “YES – I NEED THAT”, but you did not need it before you watched the Ad.

The problem is that children and people are not educated on how Advertising works – How it plays the emotions and feelings and how it actually directs you to do what the ad tells you to. Before you can do that you need to understand how emotions and feelings direct you and to see how you are actually not the one who directs your life. How do you do that? Find out in my next blog.