Spongebob Making Kids Stupid, Study Finds
While Spongebob SquarePants may be a hit TV show among children a new study released showing its negative effects on children's ability to think may have Spongebob losing its parent fan base.
According to research published in the journal Pediatrics, fast-paced shows like SpongeBob hinders children's ability to learm.
The study, led by University of Virginia psychologist Angelline Lillard, found that these fast-paced shows effect children's ability to pay attention, solve problems, and moderate behavior.
During the study, reserachers randomly assigned 60 four-year-olds to three different assignments: drawing freely, watching nine minutes of a slow-paced PBS cartoon, and watching nine minutes of fast-paced Spongebob.
The preschoolers were then asked to do cognitive thinking tasks such as counting backwards or solving puzzles.
The children who watched Spongebob did significantly worse on the tasks than those who drew or watched the slower-paced cartoon.
According to Lillard one possible explanation for this is the usual "monkey see monkey do" mindset.
"Children identify with unfocused and frentic characters, and then adopt their characteristics," said Lillard.
Not everyone was keen to the study's findings.
David Bittler, a Nickelodean representative, claimed that the study was flawed. He cited the study's lack of diversity, since they only used middle to upper-class white kids, and the fact that the show's targeted audience are 6-year olds and not the 4-year-olds used in the study, as reasons as to why the study couldn't possibly produce valid findings.
The show, which first aired in 1999 is the only Nicktoon from the 1990s that has not ended yet.
