The Effects of Fast-Paced Cartoons

Since its invention some 60 years ago, television has been maligned by many as being bad for children's brains. Accusations that it was a “boob tube” have existed almost as long as the medium itself, but they gained considerable traction with the advent of preschool programming in the 1970s when teachers reported that children began school with “five minute attention spans.”1 Initial scientific inquiry failed to substantiate their concerns.2,3 In fact, early and consistent evidence has demonstrated educational benefits of high-quality preschool programming.4,5 However, the media landscape has evolved considerably since then. Although the typical child began watching television at 4 years of age in 1970 and consumed ∼3 to 4 hours/day, the typical child today begins watching at 4 months of age and is engaged with media for up to 8 hours/day.6,–,8 This has led some to distinguish between today's generation of children, the “digital natives,” because they have been immersed in media since birth, and their parents, who will remain “digital immigrants.” However, the quantity of media consumed has been an unduly emphasized part of the story. It is not that quantity is unimportant, but the effects of media are mediated more by what is watched than how much is watched.9 Simply put, television is both good and bad: there are good programs and bad ones. And, what makes programs good or bad has to do not only with the content itself but with what in communications research are known as the formal features of that content. Some sequences are naturally paced … Address correspondence to Dimitri A. Christakis, MD, MPH, Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development, 2001 Eighth Ave, Seattle, WA 98121. E-mail: dachris{at}uw.edu