I wished the author would've made explicit distinction between 'being informed' and 'influenced by mass media'. Being informed to me means being educated and aware of the world around you – how the clothes on your back is made, the resources that are used to make your fancy gadgets – of course anyone would be depressed.
But it's different than to being sucked into a 'lifestyle', the mass media throws at you as stated in the article for obvious reasons. I wished the author made this distinction.
Exactly, it is the difference between "go and see it yourself" and using intermediaries to tell you about the world.
The intermediaries could distort this information for their own profit like "war on terror" to create wars, or to sell more, or to eliminate adversaries(portray only what is bad about them).
I don't think everybody would be depressed if they saw how their gadgets are made, in fact it would be very useful to know to decide and choose those that make your gadgets right, but it cost a little more.
But it's different than to being sucked into a 'lifestyle', the mass media throws at you as stated in the article for obvious reasons. I wished the author made this distinction.