An American investigation has set off alarms regarding one of the most famous drawings among children: SpongeBob SquarePants. According to this study, the frenzied yellow cartoon could cause attention and learning problems in children under the age of four. From the television channel that broadcasts it in the United States, they have explained that these drawings are aimed at children between 6 and 11 years of age.
At the University of Virginia, a group of directed researchers selected 60 children under the age of four at random and subjected them to various tests. After dividing them into three groups, the first one was shown part of an episode of SpongeBob; the second group visualized a much more leisurely and realistic cartoon called “Caillou” and the third group were given pencils to draw on. Later, they observed how they behaved in the face of different tests : delayed gratification test (to measure impulsivity), cognitive performance test (repetition of a series of numbers in reverse), and so on.
Those who had viewed SpongeBob drawings were more impulsive and scored lower on tests than those who had seen other types of drawings or even spent time drawing.
Intended for children between 6 and 11 years old
Age is a fundamental factor in the study and in the defense of the producers of the television series. As lead researcher Angelina Lillard explains, “as children get older they can handle stimuli better,” specifying that ” with six-year-olds we have seen the same type of effects, although not as marked .” Likewise, Nickelodeon, who produced the series of the yellow character, have explained that the series is aimed at children between 6 and 11 years old and not under 4 years of age.
The analysis will be published in the next issue of the journal Pediatrics under the title “The immediate impact of different types of television on the executive function of young children.”
