--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America…is being lost through television…" description: "\"“America…is being lost through television. Because in advertising, mendacity and manipulation are raised to the level of internal values for the advert..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/norman-mailer-839_interrupted_america-is-being-lost-through-television_2062732.png" --- # America…is being lost through television. Because in… ![“America…is being lost through television. Because in advertising, mendacity and manipulation are raised to the level of internal values for the advertisers. Interruption is seen as a necessary concomitant to marketing. It used to be that a seven- or eight-year old could read consecutively for an…” quote by Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/norman-mailer-839_interrupted_america-is-being-lost-through-television_2062732.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/norman-mailer-839_interrupted_america-is-being-lost-through-television_2062732.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8a1/norman-mailer-839_interrupted_america-is-being-lost-through-television_2062732.png) > ““America…is being lost through television. Because in advertising, mendacity and manipulation are raised to the level of internal values for the advertisers. Interruption is seen as a necessary concomitant to marketing. It used to be that a seven- or eight-year old could read consecutively for an hour or two. But they don’t do that much anymore. The habit has been lost. Every seven to ten minutes, a child is interrupted by a commercial on TV> Kids get used to the idea that their interest is there to be broken into. In consequence, they are no longer able to study as well. Their powers of concentration have been reduced by systematic interruption.”” [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Continuous commercial interruptions erode deep focus, making sustained reading and study difficult for children. **In simple terms:** TV ads break attention, harming concentration. Key Takeaway Limit media interruptions to protect focus. Themes media attention education culture Mood concerned critical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - classroom learning - home study - reading sessions - media consumption Key Concepts advertising impact cognitive load habit formation Questions to Reflect On - What habits can restore deep reading? - How can media be used responsibly? A Different Perspective Some argue that digital multitasking can improve certain skills. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advertisers Interruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advertisers-interruption-3943102/) [Child Interrupted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-interrupted-3943103/) [Interrupted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interrupted/) [Interrupted Commercial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interrupted-commercial-3551256/) [Interruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interruption/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/the-joy-of-music-should-never-be-interrupted-by-a-commercial/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [time spent in being interrupted is not time lost. ... How do we know but that the interruption we snarl at is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-robertson-brown-lindsay/time-spent-in-being-interrupted-is-not-time-lost-how-do-we-know-but/) [Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-robertson-brown-lindsay/) > [What goes on inside the school is an interruption of education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/what-goes-on-inside-the-school-is-an-interruption-of-education/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Evil is the interruption of a truth by the pressure of particular or individual interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-badiou/evil-is-the-interruption-of-a-truth-by-the-pressure-of-particular-or/) [Alain Badiou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-badiou/) > [“The interruption did nothing but earn her a similar slap, as I’m sure she knew it would. Sometimes I wondered if my mother spoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/the-interruption-did-nothing-but-earn-her-a-similar-slap-as-i-m-sure/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I just love the idea that people disappear into the story for a while. You grab a book, and you want to get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/i-just-love-the-idea-that-people-disappear-into-the-story-for-a-while/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“I feared nothing but interruption, and that came too soon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/i-feared-nothing-but-interruption-and-that-came-too-soon/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [“I'm boasting of my...skills, and I would prefer to do it without interruption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-m-boasting-of-my-skills-and-i-would-prefer-to-do-it-without/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Just about the only interruption we don't object to is applause.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/just-about-the-only-interruption-we-don-t-object-to-is-applause/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The interruption we now impatiently put off may be the most important thing we could be doing at this particular time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-l-evans/the-interruption-we-now-impatiently-put-off-may-be-the-most-important/) [Richard L. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-l-evans/) > [The shortest definition of religion: interruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-baptist-metz/the-shortest-definition-of-religion-interruption/) [Johann Baptist Metz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-baptist-metz/) > [Ideals do exist, the rest is just temporary interruption.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanna-bonta/ideals-do-exist-the-rest-is-just-temporary-interruption/) [Vanna Bonta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanna-bonta/) > [“First, let me finish. Then interrupt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-spellman/first-let-me-finish-then-interrupt/) [Brian Spellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-spellman/) > [If I know somebody is coming 'round, it is incredibly difficult for me to work because I'm waiting for this interruption - even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/if-i-know-somebody-is-coming-round-it-is-incredibly-difficult-for-me/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [You always hear actors say, 'Theater is my first love,' and it is. It's a time when you really get to do what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-landecker/you-always-hear-actors-say-theater-is-my-first-love-and-it-is-it-s-a/) [Amy Landecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-landecker/) ## More by Norman Mailer > [Conservatives are people who look at a tree and feel instinctively that it is more beautiful than anything they can name. But when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/conservatives-are-people-who-look-at-a-tree-and-feel-instinctively/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [There's a subterranean impetus towards pornography so powerful that half the business world is juiced by the sort of half sex that one finds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/there-s-a-subterranean-impetus-towards-pornography-so-powerful-that/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [So the blind will lead the blind, and the deaf shout warnings to one another until their voices are lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/so-the-blind-will-lead-the-blind-and-the-deaf-shout-warnings-to-one/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Writing for a newspaper is like running a revolutionary war. You go to battle not when you are ready, but when action offers itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/writing-for-a-newspaper-is-like-running-a-revolutionary-war-you-go-to/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I would introduce myself if it were not useless. The name I had last night will not be the same as the name I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-would-introduce-myself-if-it-were-not-useless-the-name-i-had-last/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“City Point is so beautiful, she says. In the night they cannot see the garbage that litters the beach, the seaweed and driftwood, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/city-point-is-so-beautiful-she-says-in-the-night-they-cannot-see-the/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“I find it’s more fun to write about something that you don’t know completely and that you will discover on route. A dear friend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-find-it-s-more-fun-to-write-about-something-that-you-don-t-know/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Short-term amnesia is not the worst affliction if you have an Irish flair for the sauce.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/short-term-amnesia-is-not-the-worst-affliction-if-you-have-an-irish/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Part of the oncoming demise (of New York during its terrible fiscal crisis) is that none of us can simply believe it. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/part-of-the-oncoming-demise-of-new-york-during-its-terrible-fiscal/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction ... that the mysteries are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-have-always-had-this-very-strong-call-it-a-feeling-call-it-a/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I do believe that America's deepest political sickness is that it is a self-righteous nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-do-believe-that-america-s-deepest-political-sickness-is-that-it-is/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [America is a hurricane, and the only people who do not hear the sound are those fortunate if incredibly stupid and smug White Protestants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/america-is-a-hurricane-and-the-only-people-who-do-not-hear-the-sound/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Armstrong, sitting in the commander's seat, spacesuit on, helmet on, plugged into electrical and environmental umbilical's, is a man who is not only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/armstrong-sitting-in-the-commander-s-seat-spacesuit-on-helmet-on/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I was thinking that surgeons had to be the happiest people on earth. To cut people up and get paid for it-that's happiness, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/i-was-thinking-that-surgeons-had-to-be-the-happiest-people-on-earth/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Movies are more likely than literature to reach deep feelings in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/movies-are-more-likely-than-literature-to-reach-deep-feelings-in/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) [Explore all 355 Norman Mailer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) ## More Interrupted quotes > [I read and write for most of the day, but I do let myself be interrupted by real life. I enjoy going out with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-read-and-write-for-most-of-the-day-but-i-do-let-myself-be/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [“Well, I reckon you should --" Ron began, but he was interrupted by the Fat Lady, who had been watching them sleepily and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling/well-i-reckon-you-should-ron-began-but-he-was-interrupted-by-the-fat/) [J.K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) > [When we went on the air, I didn't want to be interrupted for an act-one curtain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lear/when-we-went-on-the-air-i-didn-t-want-to-be-interrupted-for-an-act/) [Norman Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lear/) > [A comedy is just a tragedy interrupted, I once said. Do you finish with the kiss or when she opens her eyes to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-ayckbourn/a-comedy-is-just-a-tragedy-interrupted-i-once-said-do-you-finish-with/) [Alan Ayckbourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-ayckbourn/) > [Every lecture should state one main point and repeat it over and over, like a theme with variations. An audience is like a herd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gian-carlo-rota/every-lecture-should-state-one-main-point-and-repeat-it-over-and-over/) [Gian-Carlo Rota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gian-carlo-rota/) > [I can't help but react to the painful realities of the two-tiered society we live in, where the signs of poverty and inequity are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-yarrow/i-can-t-help-but-react-to-the-painful-realities-of-the-two-tiered/) [Peter Yarrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-yarrow/) > [I am in the midst of a soliloquy! I wrote this out and memorized it and if you interrupt me I will completely screw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-in-the-midst-of-a-soliloquy-i-wrote-this-out-and-memorized-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [For relationships, too, must be like islands. One must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/for-relationships-too-must-be-like-islands-one-must-accept-them-for/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [I wish children could grow according to their natural pace: sleep when sleepy, wake up when rested, eat when hungry, cry when upset, play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magda-gerber/i-wish-children-could-grow-according-to-their-natural-pace-sleep-when/) [Magda Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magda-gerber/) > [“There’s lots of law these days,” she interrupted, “but not much justice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/there-s-lots-of-law-these-days-she-interrupted-but-not-much-justice/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Like their personal lives, women's history is fragmented, interrupted; a shadow history of human beings whose existence has been shaped by the efforts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-janeway/like-their-personal-lives-women-s-history-is-fragmented-interrupted-a/) [Elizabeth Janeway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-janeway/) > [“You know, that bishop strategy you often use is incredibly devious, and I was just about to try a new way to block it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-habel/you-know-that-bishop-strategy-you-often-use-is-incredibly-devious-and/) [Lia Habel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-habel/) > [“While I'm sure this is going to be a fascinating story,' I interrupted. 'I don't care. I'm having a major parental crisis that sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kody-keplinger/while-i-m-sure-this-is-going-to-be-a-fascinating-story-i-interrupted/) [Kody Keplinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kody-keplinger/) > [“They were about to continue a journey that had really started long ago. A journey that had been strangely interrupted, that even now someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-key/they-were-about-to-continue-a-journey-that-had-really-started-long/) [Alexander Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-key/) [Browse all 253 Interrupted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interrupted/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“America…is being lost through television. Because in advertising, mendacity and manipulation are raised to the level of internal values for the advertisers. Interruption is seen as a necessary concomitant to marketing. 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