BY ELISE TECCO
By Katie Gergel
CARTOON COGNISANCE By Elise Tecco Didn’t life seem pretty simple when you were little? The smell of breakfast in the morning would fill the air as you rolled out of bed, headed downstairs and turned on the TV. You’d flip through channels until you found one of your favorite shows to watch. Maybe it was “Arthur,” because you loved hearing DW’s sassy remarks. Or perhaps you loved Miss Frizzle’s adventures on “The Magic School Bus” or the goofy antics of “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
When thinking back on our childhood, so many of these TV shows played a vital part in our lives. Now, as college students, we look back on these times and feel a strong sense of nostalgia every time we hear an old theme song or think of a character we used to adore. Many people believe that kids shouldn’t watch any TV. Others think that TV shows are purely for fun, without realizing their deeper impact. Regardless, we can probably all agree that these shows should be compatible with different stages of childhood. Molly Countermine, human development and family studies professor at Penn State, says an appropriate show should, “cognitively match” the child who is watching it. “For a two- or four-year-old, a show like ‘Kipper the Dog,’ which is slow-paced and simple, would be better than ‘SpongeBob,’ which moves very quickly and has a lot of aggressive behavior displayed by the characters,” Countermine says. Saving the Day
Yael Warshel, assistant professor of telecommunications at Penn State, provides an interesting perspective on the value of kids’ shows. She explains that for many people who live in crime and conflict-ridden places or even lower income areas, watching television, no matter what the show is, could “literally save their kid’s lives.” This is because watching TV keeps the children inside and off the streets where it may be dangerous. Thinking about it in this way, even having the opportunity to decide what is “good” or “bad” for children to watch is a privilege, since it means you’re choosing shows for their entertainment or educational value — not because they merely serve as a type of protection from outside harm. Won’t you be my neighbor?
One of the most watched shows is “Sesame Street,” which has been on the air for five decades and has been watched by 150 million children worldwide. “Sesame Street” was created to help kids, especially those with a lower socio-economic status, prepare for school. The educational show is constantly changing as the show’s researchers pull new information from focus groups to see what
works. Cookie Monster, for example, was brought on to show kids how to control impulses. Penn State media studies professor, Mary Beth Oliver, says “Sesame Street” teaches kids about prosocial behavior, helping children to be compassionate toward others and deal with their emotions. She also points to “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” as another great example of television encouraging positive traits like kindness. “I think the thing that the show really did well was making the child feel safe, validating a kid’s emotions and showing the audience that people can be good and kind, which is wonderful,” Oliver says. “Blue’s Clues” presented a unique way to engage kids. The host posed questions and paused, waiting to hear the viewers’ answers. This allowed children to think and respond to what was asked. “Blue’s Clues” also included a lot of repetition to help kids feel like they could master new topics. Nickelodeon would air the same episode every day for a week before moving onto a new one. Warshel agrees that “Blue’s Clues” does a great job at fostering a kid’s sense of ability, showing them that what they think matters. She cautions, however, that even though a lot of research goes into children’s programming, there is no guarantee that kids will learn the messages that are taught. Viewer Beware, You’re in for a Scare
What if the point of the story is simply to scare us? Oliver refers to an interesting study conducted by Kristen Harrison and Joanne Cantor titled, “Tales from the Screen: Enduring Fright Reactions to Scary Media,” which found that 90% of the 153 college students interviewed still reacted with fear to scary TV shows and movies they watched as children. “In a lot of children’s programming, much of the content is centered on a conflict happening, and only a small portion of the show actually resolves the conflict,” Countermine says. “This means that kids are actually learning more about conflict than about conflict resolution. So, there is a correlation between the amount of screen time and kid’s aggressive behavior.” Sunny Day, Chasing the Clouds Away
As kids, we didn’t choose our favorite TV shows based on their educational quality or whether or not they succeeded in teaching us anything. We chose our favorite shows for very different reasons –– they might have made us laugh or maybe we were able to connect with the characters we saw on screen. Looking back now on those childhood afternoons we spent with beloved characters like Clifford and Oswald, it’s hard to believe the ways in which they were affecting us as we grew up. With this in mind, it may be interesting to see how the media we consume today as college students will make an impact on the rest of our lives. ■
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