Cup O’ Joe: Are cartoons corrupting our youth?

A few weeks back, there was a national report on how watching the cartoon “SpongeBob SquarePants” was detrimental to our youth. It was suggested, based on the research, that watching the program for just nine minutes caused short-term attention issues.
    Researchers conducted a study of 60 4-year-olds and randomly had some watch “SpongeBob,” while others were chosen to watch the PBS cartoon “Caillou.” Still others, were chosen to not watch television at all, and were instead handed some paper and crayons and asked to draw pictures.
Apparently, those that watched “SpongeBob” had a harder time focusing their attention afterwards. The report stated that some of today’s cartoon shows contained “fast-paced” programming that was difficult for young children to comprehend.
These are probably the same researchers who thought it was a good idea back in the 1980s to change the flavor of Coca-Cola, just because Pepsi was starting to gain some ground in the soft drink business. How did that work out?
Today’s society has researchers who will study just about anything it seems. Data can often be created to support any given thesis.
Cartoons and childhood go hand-in-hand. My generation grew up with shows like “Bugs Bunny,” “Scooby Doo,” and “The Flintstones” early on and then “Transformers,” “Voltron” and “G.I. Joe,” later on. There were also shows such as “Sesame Street,” “The Electric Company,” “3-2-1 Contact,” and “Mr. Wizard’s World” that offered alternatives to animated shows, while teaching lessons such as science and grammar.
Still, can cartoons be blamed for behaviors in young children? The last time I checked, I had no desire to launch giant ACME anvils from the top of a mountain in an effort to crush a roadrunner, nor did I try to blow up the Earth with an “Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.”
I can’t speak for other children, but I can speak for my own 4-year-old daughter who will watch cartoons from time to time. “SpongeBob” is not one of our more preferred shows for the kids to watch, mostly because of the annoying voice of the title character, and not because of the content of the show. It’s really no different from any of the Looney Tunes shows from days gone by.
We limit the amount of screen time our children get on a weekly basis. Usually, it’s on Saturday mornings and our youngest often gets off the couch and moves on to something else far sooner than her 8-year-old sister. It probably has more to do with each individual child than one all-encompassing blanket. Some kids will sit and stare at a screen — whether it’s a television, laptop computer or video game — for hours if you let them. Others simply don’t have as much interest in it.
Are today’s cartoons any worse for children than those from the 1970s and ‘80s? It’s debatable. But in small quantities, or as rewards for doing homework or house chores, cartoons can help spark a child’s imagination without causing irreparable damage.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.