WatchingSpongeBob SquarePants bad for four-year-olds
Kids & Kartels:- It seems everyone loves SpongeBob SquarePants.
Except me.
In my humble opinion it’s a huge pile of steaming excreta
I tried to watch a couple of times in to see if there was anything funny about it.
But there wasn’t.
Now “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, says the Hollywood Reporter, going on, “Immediately after these nine-minute assignments, the kids took mental function tests; those who had watched ‘SpongeBob’ did measurably worse than the others.
However, “Nickelodeon, which airs the popular animated children’s television program, has ordered 26 episodes, which also includes the series’ 200th episode. Season 9 is scheduled to air in 2012 says another Hollywood Reporter story.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nickelodeons-spongebob-squarepants-renewed-ninth-67737.
“SpongeBob’s success in reaching over 200 episodes is a testament to creator Stephen Hillenburg’s vision, comedic sensibility and his dynamic, lovable characters,” Brown Johnson, president of animation for Nickelodeon and MTVN Kids and Family Groupis quoted as saying.
It’s also a testament to the way in which some parents will actively expose their children to the most mindless drivel.
September 12th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
Add the fact that Viacom, the owners of Nickelodeon, actually support this crap and you have a chilling vision of what’s to come. I don’t even like Spongebob Squarepants not just because I associate them with Viacrap, but because the show’s stupid. I mean Ren and Stimpy was a little over the line, but back then I liked it. Plus it didn’t make me into a dumbass when I went to school. Viacom doesn’t care about the kids or the quality of its shows. It only cares about the big green.
September 13th, 2011 at 9:36 am
sigh.
Rock and Roll does not make kids devil worshippers.
Video games do not make kids criminals.
Facebook does not make kids do drugs.
Cartoons do not make kids stupid.
PARENTS are the largest factor in all of the above, and the endless attempt to
blame outside influences instead of taking parental responsibility ( or accepting that which
sometimes happens WITHOUT ANY REASON ) is as stupid as the RIAA’s false belief system.
( I think spongebob is funny. Some people think Ernie Kovacs was a comic genius. I can’t find anything
funny about him. Humor is subjective, much like musical tastes, but I THOUGHT we were all smart enough to realize that)
September 13th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
^^In my humble opinion it’s a huge pile of steaming excreta
September 13th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
” ^^In my humble opinion it’s a huge pile of steaming excreta ”
I have no problem with that whatsoever.
As I said, humor, like any other creative format, is subjective.
I do have problem with demonizing anything with the questionable, sometimes shady use of “statistics”.
The RIAA uses this SAME EXACT PROCESS to demonize filesharing and music fans, and we decry the stupidity of those
well heeled idiots. Yet here some are willing to accept the same types of questionable methodologies, well, as long as it’s
used against something WE don’t like.
Free speech issues aside these same tired old arguments have been used to attempt to ban ( sometimes successfully ) a wide variety of things.
You remember as well as I, Jon. Comic books, Rock Music, The VCR etc .. the list is endless. It is telling though, that mainstream news looks at
spongebob, but not one word about the media companies current virtual ‘landgrab’. not one peep about lawsuits. Not a sound about anything that is REALLY going on.
This is a distraction, and here are turning our heads and exclaiming ‘ooooo , shiny !’.
September 13th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
It’s one thing to demonize filesharing, but quite another to demonize demons.
September 13th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
For as mindless as Sponge Bob is, I’d rather have my kids watch that than “Barney and Friends” or “Dora The Explorer”!
September 13th, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Anyone who hates Spongebob Squarepants is a barnacle-head. (If you fail to get that, haha!)
There is nothing wrong with Spongebob Squarepants. If you don’t like the show then don’t watch it. I think High School Musical and Twilight was a bunch of horseshit fish paste, but that doesn’t mean I have to watch them and stop the fans from watching it.
SPONGEBOB PROMOTES TERRORISM! OMG!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_pyazw_VYI
September 13th, 2011 at 10:28 pm
My kid has watched this for years , he is 11 and has NO learning problems . He is a straight A kid .
Just because YOUR loser kid has ADHD , this that and whatever and needs 14 kinds of medications do NOT blame a show MY kid enjoys and try to take away MY childs relaxation .
September 14th, 2011 at 8:55 am
as mindless as Sponge Bob is, I’d rather have my kids watch that than “Barney and Friends” or “Dora The Explorer” … Me too — but not by much and Lisa,you urgently need to introduce your kids to Arthur, say, or Magic School Bus.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:06 am
I expected these kinds of reactions from people who thrive on the kind of mindless drivel that’s standard fare on American television …
Cheers!
September 14th, 2011 at 9:11 am
@ Dredd — Apples and oranges.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:24 am
hahahaha, only p2pnet could turn spongebob squarepants into a political debate
September 14th, 2011 at 9:39 am
A ‘political debate’?
September 14th, 2011 at 9:49 am
” @ Dredd — Apples and oranges. ”
Umm, no.
Accepting faulty research to support what you already believe is consistent in both examples.
I am comparing methodologies and dogma, not the target. In these examples, it’s consistent.
1. decide you don’t like something.
2. form a scary ‘belief’.
3. pay someone to come up with ‘research’ that solidifies your ‘belief’.
4. Ignore any and all reality that contradicts your ‘belief’.
This steps are common in all of the examples I mentioned, not a comparison of ‘Apples and Oranges’ at all.
But it is a bit of a confirmation of step number 4 eh
Let’s see ….
‘Sample’ size 90 kids.
All subjects are not part of the target demographic of the show ( 8 and up ).
Correlation .. causation etc …
C’mon .. how can you look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t shabby ass research ?
You can because you ALREADY BELIEVE THE PREMISE. Pin an RIAA label on your lapel, when you
want to act like them.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:56 am
@ Dredd:OK — peaches and pears, then …
September 14th, 2011 at 10:02 am
‘Pin an RIAA label on your lapel’ — Is that the best you can do?
September 14th, 2011 at 10:02 am
Number 4
September 14th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Anyway, I’m not talking about The quality of the research, which I agree is pitiful: I’m talking about the quality of sponge Bob Square Pants, which is pure, unadulterated, mindless garbage !
And I did say “in my humble opinion.”
Cheers!
September 14th, 2011 at 10:16 am
I do want to stress that my posts are NOT intended to be personal attacks or trolling, Jon.
My ‘beliefs’ ….
1. Excessive amounts of anything is bad for you .. anything.
2. There must be balance in life. Especially when raising kids.
3. Balance is not necessarily ‘fairness’
4. Mindless stupid fun has it’s place in a kids life. Without it one never gets to be a kid. However, see number 1.
5. Using faulty research as ‘proof’ of any premise is nothing short of criminal. This is what really chaps my hide.
With all of the obvious brainpower I see here I STILL see too many clearly smart people falling into the
‘I believe it, and will ignore any contradictory evidence’ category. The methodology in the study referenced in the
article is obviously and almost comically flawed, and that needs to be acknowledged.
I know the phrase ‘ Believe in nothing. fall for anything’, but what about ‘Believe blindly and be led to destruction as a
lamb to the slaughter’ ?
September 14th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
Mindless stupid fun has it’s place in a kids life.”
Agreed. But when it’s just mindless and stupid and nothing else, it ceases to be fun.
“Excessive amounts of anything is bad for you .. anything.
2. There must be balance in life. Especially when raising kids.”
You said it, Dredd.
Cheers!
September 14th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
heh, nice one …
http://torrentfreak.com/indie-game-devs-post-pirated-game-on-the-pirate-bay-110909/
Indie game company posts their game for free on pirate bay = profit.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:00 pm
“Personally, I think Ronald McDonald is more harming than Sponge Bob.” — So you do admit Sponge Bob is harmful
As for Ron McD, When I was in the REHAB wing in hospital, There was a guy named Al confined to a wheelchair because of a stroke. Nor could he speak. His vocalisations were confined to grunts and mumbles. But he was transferred to a local Ronald McDonald house where it was hoped He’d recover at least some of his speech.
I don’t know if the unit had therapists available, or if they were hoping that by being exposed to’ normal’ kids Al would regain the ability to make intelligible sounds.
On the other hand, he tuned into kids’ TV from breakfast onwards and Sponge Bob was one of his favourite programs. It didn’t seem to do anything for his speech.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Yay Canada !
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110913/03331815927/canada-plans-to-re-introduce-bad-copyright-plan-with-damaging-digital-locks-provisions-with-no-additional-consultation.shtml
( Yes, Sarcasm )
September 16th, 2011 at 4:23 am
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/spongebob-squarepants-in-street-fight-with-two-girls-in-la/story-e6frfmyi-1226138808208
Spongebob getting bashed by 2 girls in LA.
September 18th, 2011 at 1:14 am
Most American cartoons post Bugs Bunny/Woody Woodpecker/Popeye blow enormous chunks. Not only are they not funny the animation sucks. Admittedly degradation in animation quality started around the 50′s but things have NOT improved since then. Since I switched over to Anime(NOT Pokemon, yes there is bad anime too) I can’t remember the last time I watched a crappy U.S. cartoon. For kids check out movies by this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki
As well as – Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit – series, similar in style to Miyazaki
A little older – Cowboy Bebop (side note, if you like jazz you’ll LOVE the soundtrack to this) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_bebop