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Since my area of expertise focuses on the positive effects of media, I thought it might help for perspective to share a question my students, colleagues and friends with children often ask me. Many times, I have turned to the SpongeBob SquarePants study conducted by Lillard & Peterson (2011) as a great conversation starter. The study stated the cartoon causes short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds after only nine minutes of viewing.
Why do you think people tend to be so fearful about the effects on TV?
For perspective, I think we have to change people to parents. Parents are fearful because of the trance inducing state television often causes their children to settle into while watching. Also to some, it is an invasive medium that parents cannot control (unless they physically turn it off). With obesity fears in our country running rampant, they have cause for concern. Active play is very beneficial – but so is cognitive processing. Exercising your mind is beneficial, but still today; television is not seen as a healthy way to gain a “cognitive workout.” Yet, there are those programs that make educational material available to children through this medium - for instance, your mainstays – Sesame Street, Barney and the like, but also the non-typical, such as those Food Network programs that focus on culinary skills or Disney, Jr.’s Octonauts that impart lessons focusing on teamwork and marine creature characteristics. Also, parents often do not agree with some of the messages of these programs or the humor for that matter (again look at SpongeBob), but it is appealing to children and it makes them laugh. Articles like Lillard & Peterson’s work provide more fuel to the fire that television is “bad.” When in fact, I like to remind parents that while there are some potential negatives to keep in mind - there are positive lessons Mr. SquarePants provides young audiences. Remember, he is a loyal friend. How can we protest that trait?
Lillard, A.S., & Peterson, J. (2011). The immediate impact of different types of television on young children’s executive function. Pediatrics. Free online publication. doi: 10.1542/peds.2010-1919.
