The article is saying that for a child raised (mostly) on commercial-free media (Netflix), advertisements are so intrusive and annoying that the child rejects watching TV outright because of the commercials.
I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that keeps advertising executives up at night. What would happen if everyone under the age of 20 thought like this (assuming that ad-free media sources still exist)?
I don't doubt that within a couple years, all licensed streaming media will have completely unskippable commercials. It's what's happened on DVD and Blu-Ray. At least with TV I have the option to change the channel or if I use a DVR, I can just skip through.
The title "TV" refers to a physical medium. If it meant "the commercial-supported major networks", then perhaps it should have said that.
Nonetheless, it is understood that children notice change. If you give your child maple syrup when they're accustomed to Aunt Jemima, they will ask you what it is. They will probably ask for their Aunt Jemima back. Children are not savants supplying higher information (and I say that as a very proud parent of four of them): They are creatures of routine and habit. A day later they would happily enjoy maple syrup, rejecting their old standby.
There just isn't anything profound or particularly insightful about that observation. It doesn't merit the "TV is broken" bit.
> "Nonetheless, it is understood that children notice change."
My own niece certainly notices that records are different than music from my Boxee. But records don't really bother her. She thinks they're weird because they're so big, and you have to find them and put them on the player and be careful with the needle.
But she happily drags out the player, shuffles through the handful of records I have and listens to them from time to time.
Yet she had a very similar reaction to what's described in the article, when she (briefly) saw Shrek on Cable. Her grandmother (the only one in her family who watches broadcast anymore) flipped through the channels and passed Shrek, whereupon my niece convinced her that they should watch it. After the first commercial break she asked if we could just watch it on the Boxee.
So it's not "child notices change". Not entirely. It's mostly "child dismisses interstitial advertising entirely".
I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that keeps advertising executives up at night. What would happen if everyone under the age of 20 thought like this (assuming that ad-free media sources still exist)?