Pediatrics Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics published a study on the effects of fast paced cartoons on four-year old children. The children in the study were broken down into three groups. Two groups were shown different cartoons, a fast paced one and a regular paced “educational one”. The third group did not watch a cartoon but were asked to draw instead. The fast paced cartoon that the children were shown was SpongeBob Square Pants and the regular paced cartoon was Caillou, a show that airs on PBS. SpongeBob Square Pants is about a sponge that lives in a pineapple house under the sea in a city called Bikini Bottom. There is an entire underwater world filled with different sea life friends, villains, work, and recreation. After each group were exposed to their groups assigned cartoon and drawing for nine minutes the children were given tests on the impairment of executive functions (EF). These tests were on concentration, learning and problem solving. According to the study, the children who watched SpongeBob did significantly worse than the other two groups.
This article is really what this blog is based on. There are so many factors in this study that were not considered. Take a few minutes and read the whole study. You may agree with its conclusions and you may not. Many of us have read studies about the influence TV has on children. This study makes one think about how some cartoons are set up now and how cartoons of the past were different. In some cartoons the content remains the same as cartoons of the past in that they are still funny, violent or educational. One major change in cartoons is the pacing. Cartoons now change scenes more frequently and in turn our cognitive ability to keep up has to change. Makes me wonder, is this is why so many adults hate SpongeBob? Do we not have the ability to keep up? Do we not like something based on the fact that without even knowing it, our children are able to follow a cartoon better than us?
The link in this page is the study and the other is a clip giving you a glimpse into the life of SpongeBob Square Pants.
I wonder if the results turned out the way they did because the students who drew were actively using their brains, while the students who watched SpongeBob took on a more passive role. Think of drawing as a brain stretcher and SpongeBob as a Big Mac. - Kelly
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