Nickelodeon has often been accused of promoting homosexuality and propaganda against global warming... But now, it is Sponge Bob Square Pants that faces accusations of hindering children's concentration. Studies supposedly show that, after watching this cartoon, lots of children were not able to concentrate as well as usual. Scientists pointed to the fact that Sponge Bob’s characters were always in motion and doing nonsensical things, thus decreasing children’s abilities to pay attention...
We think that this kind of study is really useless. It is true that watching TV is not the best thing for kids because children often mimic the chaotic, fast-moving and illogical behaviour of the characters. But, cartoons are part of our culture, and we cannot change that. Moreover, other cartoons and programmes are probably more negative, such as reality shows that show people doing unusual and useless things in front of the camera. Sponge Bob is part of American culture; He is an innocent character and he does not turn children into silly sponges for all that!
The fact that such a cartoon would be able to reduce our capacity to concentrate is quite flabbergasting.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, our concentration possibilities may have been already affected by TV programs. As they say in the article, films in which characters are constantly in motion could cause that. But to what extent watching cartoons can influence our executive functions?
We can also ask ourselves if these studies are really to be taken into account; indeed testing this hypothesis by looking at the drawings of sixty children having just seen SpongeBob at TV isn’t enough to convince us that the “results” of this study are realistic.
Anyway if this study is true, we will be forced to stop watching SpongeBob on TV; we would probably live such a thing as a personal drama.
Comment by Michaël, Alexandre, and Sybil.
Guys,
ReplyDeleteYou surely still love Sponge Bob Square Pants, and thus, you are too subjective; open your eyes! Yes, this show is a part of American culture. But is it a reason for refraining from deleting a show, in so far as it might be harmful for children? Sade is a part of French culture; never-the-less, are all French people libertines who commit incest every day? Nope, instead they censored Sade for two hundred years! If a cultural practice cannot be accepted as good or moral, it should be forgotten. However, as proved by Angeline Lillard, Sponge Bob Square Pants is not good at all for children! So why should it still be watched?!
Etienne Muller and Philippe Olivier, Sainte-Marie