Greetings Inky Buds! Today I will be discussing a less sensitive topic, thank goodness. If you are a human, you were obviously a child once. Throughout the decades, children's media has changed and still is. As you grow up, have children of your own, or have younger relatives in your family, you are most likely going to see a bit of the shows your child/sibling/relative is watching. Depending on what they're watching, you may be stunned, or even appalled by what they are watching. Although it is no mystery as to why. The quality of what kids are watching has been declining lately. It is becoming less educational and focused on being a good citizen, to making children think that fart jokes are funny.
As someone who has younger siblings, I was disgusted to find my younger siblings watching Teen Titans Go! I've sat down and watched it with them before, and it was a bit of a no-brainer. Every couple of seconds, they would use potty humor, farts, and lazy jokes. The animation is subpar as well. It is easy to see that not a lot of effort is being put into what our kids see. The producers just hide the fact that there is no plot behind bright colors and explosions. Children like to see action and humor, which is why you can't make an 8-year-old sit through Titanic. That's because it doesn't appeal to them the way a cartoon would. But here's the thing, producers and directors think they can put anything in front of their eyes and expect them to watch it, even if it is utter nonsense.
A notorious example of a cartoon that isn't popular with parents is SpongeBob SquarePants. The chances are you've probably watched it at some point since it is a pretty old cartoon. However, that doesn't mean the quality is great. Even things you grew up with can be questionable. The main character's annoying laugh is enough to give you a brain aneurysm, his friend is foolish, and the only plot is Plankton trying to steal a burger formula. Despite this, it is vastly popular among many generations of children. This is because it has everything that grabs children's attention, action, bold colors, comedy, and adventure.
I used SpongeBob as an example since it is so popular and has actually been proven to be bad for children.
According to cchrflorida.org "In a recent study of 4 year olds it was suggested that watching less than ten minutes of this cartoon might cause some short-term attention or learning problems, which of course would make SpongeBob bad for kids. Children given subjective, non-medical, tests after watching this show, apparently, “did worse than those watching a slower paced cartoon”. Bugs Bunny could be considered a fast-paced cartoon, yet psychiatry was not attacking this cartoon 50 years ago. The key point here is that our society has gotten to accustomed to the buzz in their ears that is all too-often humming around, funded by big pharma, that promotes the concept that children are mentally ill if they are acting like children."
(The link for that article will be posted at the end of this post)
The problem is all these problems are being caused with children, and the companies are most likely aware of it. As I've said before, money compels people. It doesn't matter what it's causing or what problems are being caused by it, all that matters is it is being sold. So, it will be numbing your child's brain, and they'll be getting paid for every view.
The quality of children's cartoons started decreasing about the early 80's and 90's, when cable was at its height. Now, cable is being replaced with firesticks, and other streaming services for much cheaper. All you need is a Wi-Fi router, and you're all set.
But this also makes these awful cartoons more available. Now, shows back then for Nickelodeon were a little wacky, but not brain-cell killing. Rocko's modern life, Rugrats, and Hey Arnold! are arguably some of the best shows Nickelodeon has ever done. Hey Arnold! is somewhat slow-paced, but realistic. According to Imdb.com "Hey, Arnold" creates interesting characters, unique situations, all without relying on either "gross-outs" or basically unpleasant characters. The character of Arnold is friendly, caring and sensible but enough of a kid to make mistakes now and again. However, his intentions are always good."
Woefully, the cartoons in all channels started declining as the 2000-10's began to arrive. It became less about teaching and the child's interest to profit.
This is just proof that parents and even older siblings have to be careful to what their younger siblings are watching. I know I've said that parents have to take a lot of precautions for their child's mental health and education, but the reason is because of the media. These huge corporations aren't taking your child's best interest at heart. Only you do. Unfortunately, this is another hurdle that parents and guardians have to go over to ensure their children have good mindset, and mental stability. Many people don't realize how bad the media can be for child, which often isn't their fault, because the makers of Teen Titans Go! aren't going to be preaching about how their cartoon is killing your child's IQ.
Children are easily influenced, that is not new knowledge, but that means parents have to be careful with what they watch. If children watch shows with lots of violence like Tom and Jerry or TMNT, the chances are they will want to reenact them in real life with friends, or siblings.
My conclusion is: BE AWARE OF WHAT YOUR CHILD WATCHES. I cannot stress this enough, because many people don't know or think of the consequences of the things being put in front of their child's eyes. If the child lives off of these kinds of shows, they might just become bumbling idiots who don't know right from wrong. It is good to give children educational figures to look up to, you can't rely on a yellow sponge to tell your child how to handle a disagreement. Even if they do watch these shows, be sure to tell them what's right from wrong, and what not to do in real life. Now, this isn't a parenting blog, and I don't want to tell any parents or guardians reading how to do their job, I am just trying to give people with young children more information on what they watch every Saturday morning.
Thank you for reading Inky Buds! I hope you learned something and enjoyed!
See you next time and have a great day/night!
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