Fast-Paced TV Shows May Compromise Learning & Behavior of Young Children

(From Science Daily) Young children who watch fast-paced, fantastical television shows may become handicapped in their readiness for learning, according to a new University of Virginia study published in the October issue of the journal Pediatrics. U.Va. psychologists tested 4-year-old children immediately after they had watched nine minutes of the popular show “SpongeBob SquarePants” and found that their executive function — the ability to pay attention, solve problems and moderate behavior — had been severely compromised when compared to 4-year-olds who had either watched nine minutes of “Caillou,” a slower-paced, realistic public television show, or had spent nine minutes drawing.

“There was little difference on the tests between the drawing group and the group that watched ‘Caillou,’” said lead investigator Angeline Lillard, a psychology professor in U.Va.’s College of Arts & Sciences.

Lillard said there may be two reasons that a fast-paced and fantastical show would have a negative effect on the learning and behavior of young children.

“It is possible that the fast pacing, where characters are constantly in motion from one thing to the next, and extreme fantasy, where the characters do things that make no sense in the real world, may disrupt the child’s ability to concentrate immediately afterward,” she said. “Another possibility is that children identify with unfocused and frenetic characters, and then adopt their characteristics.”

The children in the study, whether they watched the television shows or drew, were tested immediately afterward for how well they solved problems and followed rules, remembered what they had been told, and were able to delay gratification.

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