Study Reveals SpongeBob Will Rot Your Brain
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Why that would be SpongeBob - he'll rot your brain on TV. (Image via spongebob.us)
The initial results showed that the kids who watched SpongeBob performed worse on all the tests. This isn’t necessarily a reflection on the quality of SpongeBob. The researchers are more concerned about the pacing and feature differences between the two shows. Specifically, SpongeBob would change scenes every 11 seconds, with lots of frenetic movement in between, whereas Caillou changed scenes every 34 seconds and was more “naturally” paced.
Caillou doesn't seem to rot your brain as much as some other cartoons…yet. (image via images.widia.com)
The fact of the matter is that cartoons and children’s shows in general have become faster-paced throughout the years, and children are watching television at a much earlier age than when cartoons first started airing 30+ years ago. The average age a child begins watching television has decreased from 4 years to 4 months, according to Dimitri Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute at the University of Washington. In a study that was published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Christakis found that more time spent watching television can potentially lead to language and social development problems in children. Now this study by Lillard will add that the kind of television being watched can also impair self-control, focus, and concentration.
For now, the results of the study are preliminary and the researchers aren’t drawing too many conclusions from the data. A larger group and wider age of children are needed for studying, as well as more variety in the television shows, with more standardized inputs and measurable results. One thing that all researchers in this area of study agree on is that a child’s television intake should be monitored and minimized. Curses! Science 2, Cartoons 0.
Thanks for providing that last paragraph. I saw several articles about this study and they all take it as gospel. 60 kids does not a full study make.
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, it always disturbs me when stuff like this is published and various interest groups only pay attention to what they want to, and ignore the actual science, data or results.
Of course, the title to my post is a bit misleading – but that’s just good journalism – IMHO.
SpongeBob will also make you gay, so there is that to consider as well.
*Stoopidest. Claim. Ever.
Yeah, everyone knows it’s the Teletubies that causes teh gay.
AverageJoe: HAW! Totally. Tinky Winky TOTALLY makes me wanna have the sex with a girl.
I read a similar article on comic books. Apparently comic book readers aren’t as intelligent as people who read magazines and novels. I call bullshit. But that is an argument for another time.
Any study like this is rubbish. Video games create sociopaths, comic books create satanists, my cow gave sour milk so that means my neighbor is a witch.
Big Tim – I’d like to read that article, if you’ve got the source. I don’t think the study is inherently rubbish, though. I think the study is valid. Research has shown that while television watching has gone up, social interaction among children has gone down. Now, whether one causes the other is still up for debate, but I think that reducing a child’s intake of TV is a good thing. Heck, I used to tell people to destroy their TV’s, read more comic books.
But I understand your point – a lot of times these studies have already made up their mind on what they want to “discover” thereby casting doubt on the actual results. But in this case, they’re just trying to find out if the *kind* of show kids watch has an impact on their behavior. Initial results point to “yes”, but more studies are needed.
Great points though.
But my point is no single one thing attributes to anything. You get a kid who loves reading and put them in front of Spongebob, they’re not going to getstupider. Some people say that diet affects intelligence too. Take into account family interaction, hobbies, religion, and any other number of contributing factors. That’s why I disagree.
My daughter is nine years old and loves “Nearly Naked Animals” which is exactly the same kind of nonsense As Spingebob. But guess what? When she’s not watching cartoons she’s playing videogames or reading Harry Potter. Same as every other kid, right? Yeah. But she sat for a test last month to be accepted into University. That’s right. She’s a goddamned prodigy. Well why isn’t her brother the same? Sure he doesn’t fail school but he’s not getting her kinds of marks. We don’t do anything different with the two. Again, there’s factors to the equation that we will never know or understand.
As for the comics article: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/education/not-funny-comic-readers-not-as-smart/2291577.aspx They neglect to mention the kids that would never sen learn to read if not for the unique medium of comic books. Kids like me who wouldn’t ever have picked up a book, let alone write for a hobby, if not for discovering an falling in love with comic books.
Sorry for getting a bit preachy there.
Preach on, Brother. I think this is a discussion that deserves the attention. Your example is a great one, where two kids growing up in the same house, under similar circumstances, can have wildly different results.
I think the bottom line is: everyone is different, and broad generalizations shouldn’t ever be made. I know I’ve turned a couple nieces and nephews into readers through comic books – so I also sympathize with your comments there, too.