Spongebob is Ruining Our Youth!

[Townhallsavoy]

CHICAGO –  The cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants is in hot water from a study suggesting that watching just nine minutes of that program can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds.

The problems were seen in a study of 60 children randomly assigned to either watch "SpongeBob," or the slower-paced PBS cartoon "Caillou" or assigned to draw pictures

Immediately after these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched "SpongeBob" did measurably worse than the others.

Previous research has linked TV-watching with long-term attention problems in children, but the new study suggests more immediate problems can occur after very little exposure - results that parents of young kids should be alert to, the study authors said.

Kids' cartoon shows typically feature about 22 minutes of action, so watching a full program "could be more detrimental," the researchers speculated, But they said more evidence is needed to confirm that.

The results should be interpreted cautiously because of the study's small size, but the data seem robust and bolster the idea that media exposure is a public health issue, said Dr. Dimitri Christakis. He is a child development specialist at Seattle Children's Hospital who wrote an editorial accompanying the study published online Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

Christakis said parents need to realize that fast-paced programming may not be appropriate for very young children. "What kids watch matters, it's not just how much they watch," he said.
University of Virginia psychology professor Angeline Lillard, the lead author, said Nickelodeon's "SpongeBob" shouldn't be singled out. She found similar problems in kids who watched other fast-paced cartoon programming.

She said parents should realize that young children are compromised in their ability to learn and use self-control immediately after watching such shows. "I wouldn't advise watching such shows on the way to school or any time they're expected to pay attention and learn," she said.

Nickelodeon spokesman David Bittler disputed the findings and said "SpongeBob SquarePants" is aimed at kids aged 6-11, not 4-year-olds.

"Having 60 non-diverse kids, who are not part of the show's targeted (audience), watch nine minutes of programming is questionable methodology and could not possibly provide the basis for any valid findings that parents could trust," he said.

Lillard said 4-year-olds were chosen because that age "is the heart of the period during which you see the most development" in certain self-control abilities. Whether children of other ages would be similarly affected can't be determined from this study

Most kids were white and from middle-class or wealthy families. They were given common mental function tests after watching cartoons or drawing. The SpongeBob kids scored on average 12 points lower than the other two groups, whose scores were nearly identical.

In another test, measuring self-control and impulsiveness, kids were rated on how long they could wait before eating snacks presented when the researcher left the room. "SpongeBob" kids waited about 2 1/2 minutes on average, versus at least four minutes for the other two groups.

The study has several limitations. For one thing, the kids weren't tested before they watched TV.

But Lillard said none of the children had diagnosed attention problems and all got similar scores on parent evaluations of their behavior.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/09/12/watching-spongebob-can-lead-to-learning-problems/#ixzz1Xm8wfBos

[Token]

The person who should really be in hot water is the fucking dumbass that offered up the money to conduct such an awful waste of time. 

Television is ruining children?  Holy shit, welcome to the 90's. 

[Townhallsavoy]

God forbid anyone blames the parents or the actual children. 

Or stop blaming at all and start accepting kids for who they really are. 

Got attention problems?  Ok.  But you ain't gonna be no docta.

[Buzz Killington]

Spongebob is the debil.  I leave my son with him for 5 hours a day and he don't teach my kid nothin.

[Snaggletiger]

Spongebob is the debil.  I leave my son with him for 5 hours a day and he don't teach my kid nothin.

Speaking of leaving kids alone, they arrested a woman down here yesterday for dropping her 7 & 11 year olds off at Barnes & Nobles at around 10:30 for 3 straight mornings and picking them up about 6:30 each evening.  She probably had stuff to do.

[Saniflush]

Speaking of leaving kids alone, they arrested a woman down here yesterday for dropping her 7 & 11 year olds off at Barnes & Nobles at around 10:30 for 3 straight mornings and picking them up about 6:30 each evening.  She probably had stuff to do.

The new library.

[Townhallsavoy]

The new liberry.

FTFY.

[AUTiger1]

Anyone ever stop to think that maybe SpongeBob was a little over the head of a 4 year old and maybe, just maybe, it wasn't meant to be educational.   It's entertainment, that is all it was created to do, was to entertain the kids and allow the creators to become rich. 

"Mommy needs  a quick 15 minute break and daddy needs a drink.....here son, watch some SpongeBob."

I have watched several cartoons here lately trying to figure out which ones I will let my son watch if he ever becomes interested in TV.  Right now he would rather play with toys, wrestle and have you read him books.  I will not encourage TV over those.....anywho, I don't see anyone raising hell over Phineas and Ferb.  There is nothing educational about Perry Platypus or Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his "anators".    Entertainment folks, that's all it is.

[AUTiger1]

God forbid anyone blames the parents or the actual children. 

Or stop blaming at all and start accepting kids for who they really are. 

Got attention problems?  Ok.  But you ain't gonna be no docta.

PPPPFFFFFFFTtttttttttttttttttttttttttt!

[Snaggletiger]

When I first saw a Barney video years ago, I was thinking that has to be the most idiotic, obnoxious drivel I've ever seen or heard.  Then, I saw my little girl transfixed on the tube...totally engrossed in that purple putz.  Suddenly, I was free to move about the house without having to worry about what my child was doing every single waking second.  Bless you Barney.

[Buzz Killington]

There is nothing educational about Perry Platypus or Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his "anators".    Entertainment folks, that's all it is.

You shut your dirty whorish mouthinator.

[AUTiger1]

You shut your dirty whorish mouthinator.

You can kiss my assinator.

Not saying it isn't a good cartoon, it's just not educational. Saturday morning, I ate a bowl of cereal, sitting on the couch watching Phineas & Ferb and SpongeBob and laughed my ass off all morning.

[Tiger Wench]

If you watch Bugs Bunny, you learn about classical music.  I still cannot hear Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries without thinking "KILL THE WABBIT!!"



And the Rabbit of Seville...



And the "Call to the Cows" section of the William Tell Overture as the sun rises over the desert in a Road Runner cartoon...



And the part of the 1812 Overture as Bugs runs down a long flight of stairs in many episodes...

See.  Edumacational.

[Townhallsavoy]

I actually credit old cartoons for my musical taste when playing guitar.

I've fallen in love with playing Django Reinhardt, Chet Atkins, and any other 1920s-1940s jazz. 

[AWK]

If you watch Bugs Bunny, you learn about classical music.  I still cannot hear Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries without thinking "KILL THE WABBIT!!"



And the Rabbit of Seville...



And the "Call to the Cows" section of the William Tell Overture as the sun rises over the desert in a Road Runner cartoon...



And the part of the 1812 Overture as Bugs runs down a long flight of stairs in many episodes...

See.  Edumacational.

Every cartoon has music...AND you had no idea what it was when you were originally watching it.  Kind of an invalid argument. 

[Snaggletiger]

Every cartoon has music...AND you had no idea what it was when you were originally watching it.  Kind of an invalid argument.

Plus, "Edukashunal" was miss-spelled.

[Buzz Killington]

Plus, "Edukashunal" was miss-spelled.

It's phone neticks

[AUTiger1]

It's phone neticks

Now if Dr. Doofenshmirtz would invent us a phone netick spellanator.

[AU_Tiger_2000]

Every cartoon has music...AND you had no idea what it was when you were originally watching it.  Kind of an invalid argument.

What a maroon!

[Snaggletiger]

Every cartoon has music...AND you had no idea what it was when you were originally watching it.  Kind of an invalid argument.

Nice..I say nice girl, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice.