Are Kids Getting Dumber?

[MrTMNT2012]

So the recent pulling of The Legend of Korra lead me to asking this question.

With beautiful and sophisticated cartoon shows like Young Justice and Korra getting pulled off TV due to low ratings, why do shows like Breadwinners and Spongebob that continue to devour whatever intelligence kids have while watching them continue to thrive in ratings?

Most of these ratings are due to the kids. Do they just not want to be challenged anymore?

I hate to sound like a hipster but back in my day, I remember every kid watching series like Batman: The Animated Series or Gargoyles instead of shows like Doug!

Are Kids getting dumber in terms of their entertainment in TV?

[Wildcat]

I don't think so. Nick just got worse. Ever since the 2000s it started going down hill.

Only thing I watch there is TmnT and Power Rangers and they're not Nick franchises...Nick just bought the turtles.

[Shred Head]

About a year ago the was test done some sort of study that kids today prefer more lighthearted material then action cartoons. I don't think that makes them stupid just more less aggressive. That can be seen as a positive or a negative there no black and white on that frankly I'll let the scholars of Harvard debate that. My friend though who was in the military thinks we are raising goddamn pussies and I'll admit he makes some good arguments.

The bitter old me inside desperate wants to scream yeas o dear god yes. But the calm rational side just wants to say different generations have different tastes. Like I said before the scholars at Harvard still don't have an answers for that and I sure as hell don't either I'm just sad that there's so little good tv.

[Redeemer]

About a year ago the was test done some sort of study that kids today prefer more lighthearted material then action cartoons. I don't think that makes them stupid just more less aggressive. That can be seen as a positive or a negative there no black and white on that frankly I'll let the scholars of Harvard debate that. My friend though who was in the military thinks we are raising goddamn pussies and I'll admit he makes some good arguments.

The bitter old me inside desperate wants to scream yeas o dear god yes. But the calm rational side just wants to say different generations have different tastes. Like I said before the scholars at Harvard still don't have an answers for that and I sure as hell don't either I'm just sad that there's so little good tv.

I agree to a fault.

The previous generation summed up best by Kennedy
"Ask not what your country can do for you...Ask what you can do for your country!"

I feel like people are relying to much on the government and other, grooming the current generation for failure.
Creating a sense of entitlement for things we have not deserved.

[Powder]

So Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, these things weren't a hit?

I don't think their choice in toons has much to do with it. There's always been mindless entertainment. The point of entertainment. For a lot of people, the point is to escape, be it from real life or the need to think.

[Jester]

Not liking something you do ≠ stupid.

It just means they have different tastes.

[Redeemer]

So Ren & Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life, these things weren't a hit?

I don't think their choice in toons has much to do with it. There's always been mindless entertainment. The point of entertainment. For a lot of people, the point is to escape, be it from real life or the need to think.

Not liking something you do ≠ stupid.

It just means they have different tastes.

These are both good points.

[MrTMNT2012]

Not liking something you do ≠ stupid.

It just means they have different tastes.

Of course but there is a difference between mindless entertainment and the more sophisticated ones. For example I know the new TMNT movie is gonna be mindless entertainment and that's fine but nowadays that form of entertainment is being celebrated by kids much more than other introspective and thoughtful films!

Once again this is evident by Transformers Age of Extinction's box office results...

[Jester]

And kids of the past were more apt to watch more thoughtful fair over mindless fun stuff? It's all about growing up and into it.

[Powder]

Kids have never been one to seek out thought provoking material. Not on a grand scale, anyway. Dunno where you're coming from on that front.

[Peanut]

If they are getting dumber it has far less to do with the quality of TV they watch and far more to do with the Internet and heinous social media/mobile culture.

[Refractive Reflections]

There's a slow amount of research that's beginning to investigate on whether today's technology (especially with the prevalence of handheld technology, gaming, and high-speed internet) may be conditioning the developing brains of children and adolescents. There's not a direct "cause and effect" relationship, but there are emerging correlations between high-tech gadgets and ADHD/ADD.


The rise in ADHD has coincided with the rise of mobile devices. According to a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation, children on average spend nearly seven and a half hours each day staring at screens. That’s up 20% from just five years ago. Is there a relationship between the two? Perhaps. It’s not so clear-cut.
...
Researchers are reluctant to say there is a direct correlation between gadgets and ADHD, but there are strong parallels between the upswing in diagnoses and an increase of screen time. One important finding: children and young adults who overdo TV and video games are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a variety of attention-span disorders, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

“ADHD is 10 times more common today than it was 20 years ago,” said Dimitri Christakis, the George Adkins professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle. “Although it is clear that ADHD has a genetic basis, given that our genes have not changed appreciably in that time frame, it is likely that there are environmental factors that are contributing to this rise.”

Part of the problem is the fragmented, action-packed nature of electronic media. Christakis found that faster-paced shows increased the risk of attention issues. The brains of children adapt to that speed, so when they’re forced to work in the slower pace of life, they often struggle to pay attention because it’s less stimulating and rewarding.

When Josh puts down his iPad, his brain finds the real-world underwhelming compared with virtual ones.

http://techland.time.com/2013/07/08/a-nation-of-kids-with-gadgets-and-adhd/



Practicing anything repetitively physically changes the brain. With time and effort, you get better at the specific task you're practicing, whether it's shooting at the enemy in a video game or hitting a baseball. Those repetitive actions and thoughts stimulate connections between brain cells, creating neural pathways between different parts of your brain. The more you practice a certain activity, the stronger that neural pathway becomes. That's the structural basis of learning.
...
Such games also require players to think of an overall strategy, perform several tasks simultaneously, and make decisions that have both an immediate and long-term impact. “That's very much like the multi-tasking inherent in most jobs today,” says Dr. Willis. “These young people may be better equipped to switch between tasks easily, adapt to new information, and modify their strategy as new input comes in.”

Useful skills, to be sure, but exercised excessively they can also become problems. After all, when kids become so accustomed to multi-tasking and processing large amounts of information simultaneously, they may have trouble focusing on a lecture in a classroom setting.

http://journals.lww.com/neurologynow/Fulltext/2014/10030/Game_Theory__How_do_video_games_affect_the.17.aspx

So how does this all relate to today's children selecting particular television programs? It's all just speculation on my part, but with technology encouraging such immediate gratification, it could explain why some children are preferring more fast-paced and louder cartoons like Spongebob rather than the calmer and subtle cartoons that require longer and increased attention, in focusing on the developments of the characters and plot which they would consider "boring".

I'm not saying this is the sole reason, but it's always interesting to consider as a small possible part of the reason. **shrug**

Plus we have to consider parental influence and upbringing, and parenting has changed significantly from when we were children since technology has developed a larger "babysitting" role for children.

[psychturtle]

I wouldn't say dumber but definitely more impulsive and unable to regulate emotions. They generally have little emotional range and limited affect. They're either aggravated, indifferent and experience lower levels of joy.

[BubblyShell22]

I wouldn't call kids stupid for liking shows like "Breadwinners" and "Spongebob" even if I classify those shows as dumb myself. It's just that kids enjoy things like toilet humor and funny situations and can laugh at them because they think they're funny. It's like how I used to be obsessed with The Smurfs when I was a kid, but now when I look at it, I think to myself, "Why the hell did I ever like this show?" I'm sure kids of today will look back at the shows they used to watch as kids and think the same thing. But that doesn't mean they're dumb or stupid for not watching an in depth show like Legend of Korra. They probably just don't understand the reasoning behind it and can't follow the story like we can.

[Peanut]

Why the hell are you guys even mentioning SpongeBob? You know that show is like 15 years old, right? The kids who "developed" during its heyday are already fully functioning human beings. The kids being talked about here were born or were babies/toddlers when SpongeBob was mega popular.

[snake]

It's not kids, it's the networks. Tron: Uprising was pulled for who knows what, Korra was pulled for low ratings, and Young Justice was pulled due to Girls watching the show.

The only reason TMNT survives as an action cartoon is that it has a Toyline that's marketed and sells very well due to Nicks promotion of the show.

[Donatello19]

Just because kids like shows that we as adults see as stupid or mindless doesn't mean that they're getting dumber...I'm sure we've all enjoyed some stupid sh*t at some point in our lives.

[Refractive Reflections]

Why the hell are you guys even mentioning SpongeBob? You know that show is like 15 years old, right? The kids who "developed" during its heyday are already fully functioning human beings. The kids being talked about here were born or were babies/toddlers when SpongeBob was mega popular.

I think it's because the show has had a dramatic decline in quality, from what I've read **shrug**, compared to its much earlier beginnings:


While the 2004 film adaptation of the series, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, was generally well received by fans of the show, it is also considered a turning point in the show's history, as many of said fans believe the television series has declined in quality since the film's release.[218] While episodes aired before the film were praised for their "uncanny brilliance",[219] ones aired after the film have been variously categorized as "kid-pandering attention-waster[s]",[220] "tedious",[221] "boring" and "dreck",[222] a "depressing plateau of mediocrity",[223] and "laugh-skimpy".[224] Following the film's release, fans "began to turn away from the show," causing online fansites to " deserted".[218] [B]Some believe the show's ratings decline as of 2012 correlates with the alleged decline in quality, and "whatever fan support [the show] enjoys is not enough" to save it from its ratings slide.[218]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants#Criticism_of_declining_quali ty_and_2012_ratings_slide

Which is making some of us question the "depth" of this new generation's taste with these current, more criticized episodes of the series with it still remaining as the top kids show for Nickelodeon. Now if the viewership numbers followed the "lower quality" material in having far lower numbers (or at least being out of the Nickelodeon top spot), then it wouldn't be fair to use it as an example of today's kids accepting "lower quality" material. **shrug**

[CyberCubed]

Nick's TMNT is a hit so what does that say?

[Refractive Reflections]

Nick's TMNT is a hit so what does that say?

Citation please.

Don't be fan-delusional Cubed, in Nick TMNT's current state (by the numbers and position alone), using the word "hit" is a stretch as I've mentioned to you this once on the Season 2 thread (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=1285887&postcount=3522) and again on the "...getting tired of the show?" thread (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=1297949&postcount=43).

The show is in lukewarm territory. As for the exact cause, well... you can decide on that.

[CyberCubed]

The Nick show is their highest rated cartoon after Spongebob. I expect 7 seasons and 150 episodes at the minimum before it ends. The fact that we've already renewed through Season 4 when Season 2 hasn't ended yet says a lot.

[Refractive Reflections]

The Nick show is their highest rated cartoon after Spongebob. I expect 7 seasons and 150 episodes at the minimum before it ends. The fact that we've already renewed through Season 4 when Season 2 hasn't ended yet says a lot.

So you are going to make a hasty generalization by using that one piece of information from May 2014 alone? When there are other pieces of information contradicting that notion? Okay... **sigh**

Maybe if you actually tried to bring up citations of your own to support your own conclusions, maybe others (like myself) in this forum would be more accepting of them.

[Cure]

Citation please.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-expo-nickelodeon-touts-475-649396

Viewership has nothing to do it. It's a merchandise juggernaut. Face it, CyberCubed is right this time.

[Allio]

honestly, Korra just isn't good.

[MrTMNT2012]

honestly, Korra just isn't good.

Have you seen Season 3?

Speaking of Korra, the Season 2 Finale was the most streamed/viewed digital Nickelodeon Event of all time!

[Refractive Reflections]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-expo-nickelodeon-touts-475-649396

Viewership has nothing to do it. It's a merchandise juggernaut. Face it, CyberCubed is right this time.

Hmmm... possibly... :ohwell:
I think I addressed it earlier (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=1170723&postcount=4):


As optimistic as this article is, it seems more of an advertisement "earnings report" for investors from the Nick executives, so the source of the information is somewhat biased though. I wonder if its truly as successful as they hoped for, since the show incorporated so many OT elements, and did Nick wish to replicate the whole TurtleMania craze back in the late 80s to early 90s? (I mean lets face it, that's probably the primary reason why Nick wanted to acquire TMNT.) So it begs the question then, how much pressure are the Nick executives placing on Ciro and the writing staff?

And once more (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=1172213&postcount=50):

I'm not too surprised myself, but as I mentioned in my first post (http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showpost.php?p=1170723&postcount=4), the source and quotes are mostly from all of the Nick executives (and not from an entertainment industry analyst), so to me at least, it seems like an advertising earnings report. I don't know how much we can truly scale its "success" if we were to compare it to 4Kids and OT eras without having their gross earnings figures as well.

As much as us fans want this show/franchise to be altruistic to us, its not. If we want our beloved Turtles franchise to live on, it's gotta make substantial profit for business. It's the cold, hard truth about the entertainment industry. I'm pretty sure the lure for Nick obtaining the TMNT rights is because they are mesmerized by the outrageous profit Turtlemania made, and now since they have acquired it, they probably assume that they can make the "best investment" out of it since it is now in the full control of big business. Whether that's true or not, only time will tell.

If there was another article or two about the success, then I would lean more toward CyberCubed's position, but with that particular article a certain amount of skepticism arises from it.

First such as, "Okay it's made $475 million in a year in revenue, but what's the actual profit?" If we subtract the $60 million for acquiring TMNT, then the manufacturing costs, the labor, the transportation of the merchandise, and the advertising, what's truly left over? Plus it says "consumer products", so how much of that is from the Nick's line and not from nostalgia sales (anything OT or 4Kids related) in relation to DVDs, T-shirts/clothes, and other more nostalgia-related products boosted from advertising TMNT back in the mainstream?

Second, this success has to be framed correctly. To us "common folk", it looks like a huge amount of money, but if we put it in a big business perspective it may not be as successful as we think. For example, if this was the revenue for a film generating $475 million worldwide, wouldn't it be a moderate hit? I know that merchandising and the film-making industry are two separate things, but if we have nothing to really concretely compare this figure to anything of the past or current, it's hard to rate this merchandising's degree of success.

Third, have you noticed that most to all of these quotes in that article were from Nickelodeon or Viacom? (The company that owns the Turtles.) Such as:
--Pam Kaufman, chief marketing officer and president, consumer products at Nickelodeon.
--Ron Johnson, who earlier this year was promoted to the role of executive vp of Nickelodeon and Viacom consumer products at Viacom International Media Networks.
Now isn't that a bit suspicious? I mean would a company actually admit publicly, that sales/merchandise was not a big hit? Just something to think about.

Fourth, some pieces of information actually opened up more questions than I thought:
According to licensing industry experts, the first-year Turtles consumer products haul handily exceeded the property's annual retail sales in the years before Nickelodeon acquired and reinvigorated it.
Naturally with comparing the first-year of TMNT merchandise with the Nick series ariring, to the merchandise the year before it aired, will yield "reinvigorated" sales.


The Nickelodeon executives touted the strong sales of Turtles action figures. Kaufman said they make up about 15 percent of toy figure sales in the U.S. "Nothing's bigger," Kaufman told THR. "We are beating Iron Man, Batman, WWE."
Perhaps "nothing bigger", but only 15 percent (according to Kaufman now)? :-? What's making up the other 85 percent anyways? It may be beating Iron Man, Batman, and WWE, but what are the other franchises that have a much bigger slice of the pie?


With all that being said :P, if there were one or two articles which are not mostly quoted from the Nick executives about TMNT's success, and had concrete, comparative figures on a much wider perspective, then I would shift more toward CyberCubed's position. But until then...:ohwell: Typically, I would assume that there's a direct relationship between viewership and merchandise sales as we've seen with other big franchise hits with Turtlemania, Pokemon, etc. But it would be a little odd to declare a franchise a pop cultural "hit" with lukewarm viewership, but having huge merchandise sales. ...Right? :-?

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

Kids have never been one to seek out thought provoking material. Not on a grand scale, anyway. Dunno where you're coming from on that front.

I was actually just thinking today how that shows from my generation that have held up well like Ducktales were shows that had a sort of historical perspective or something like that. I really loved that about Ducktales and it is still my all time favorite show and it still rocks. But I was literally just thinking today that I wonder if it doesn't hold up so well for me because it had more "adult" themes since it was based a lot on lore, mythology, history, etc. The Real Ghostbusters is my second favorite show and it still rocks as well. I loved it then too but never really knew how much it drew from mythology until later in life. So I can't say I "sought it out" for that reason as a kid. As a kid, I thought they were awesome characters and had cool gadgets and drove a cool car and were adventurous. That is really what drew me to it. I think kids now and even my 80s generation just seek out what seems "cool" and not what is "artsy" or "deep". That is what we "grown ups" do.

[Peanut]

Armchair analyst at work, folks! Everybody look out, he's got it a figured out.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

I wouldn't call kids stupid for liking shows like "Breadwinners" and "Spongebob" even if I classify those shows as dumb myself. It's just that kids enjoy things like toilet humor and funny situations and can laugh at them because they think they're funny. It's like how I used to be obsessed with The Smurfs when I was a kid, but now when I look at it, I think to myself, "Why the hell did I ever like this show?" I'm sure kids of today will look back at the shows they used to watch as kids and think the same thing. But that doesn't mean they're dumb or stupid for not watching an in depth show like Legend of Korra. They probably just don't understand the reasoning behind it and can't follow the story like we can.

I was just telling someone today how well The Smurfs still hold up! LOL! The animation was great and I still love Gargamel and Clumsy and Brainy and Hefty.

[Refractive Reflections]

Armchair analyst at work, folks! Everybody look out, he's got it a figured out.

:lol::lol:
What can I say **shrug**, I can't always take claims at face value sometimes. ;):P:lol:

[Slade]

Well, I don't know about dumber, or if it actually has anything to do with tv shows, but I do think kids these days are more naive. I don't mean teens, but more the 7,8,9, year olds. I know some who have no clue of some of the things I knew when I was their age.

Although, I these kids I know are shelterd and I wasn't so my point may be moot.

[Cure]

blah blah

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/KevMan87/h42792899_zpse0be2788.gif

Uh-huh. I know your type; you wanna spin and over analyze everything until it fits whatever you want, even when you already have the answers right in front of you. Whatevs, man, continue your crusade. I'm sure you'll convince someone.

[CyberCubed]

I think Batman: Brave and the Bold was a perfect example of doing a light-hearted and fun superhero show that was also well written and enjoyable for adults.

There's a reason Brave and the Bold was the most popular Batman cartoon since B:TAS...whereas The Batman was kind of forgettable and Beware the Batman completely bombed.

[Refractive Reflections]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/KevMan87/h42792899_zpse0be2788.gif

Uh-huh. I know your type; you wanna spin and over analyze everything until it fits whatever you want. Whatevs, man, continue your crusade. I'm sure you'll convince someone.

http://38.media.tumblr.com/8dbc2eb17b71e9e1db230f121f7fd526/tumblr_n2evaiN8Nw1r1z5a3o8_250.gif

Well back in the Season 2 info thread, I did point out, that the series did reach the number two spot in May 2014 (which CyberCubed used I'm assuming) where it wouldn't appear that post was so negative and could hint at potentially changing things, but it's too early to say. **shrug** It's just checking on websites like By the Numbers (http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/) and The Futon Critic (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/), they are telling me a mainstream contradiction to the devoted fan reception of Nick TMNT. At least I try to use different sources for my arguments rather than just focusing on one article alone. **shrug** I would love for others to present just as many articles and detailed arguments against my position so I can refine my accuracy with this topic. (That's why I welcome Leo656's arguments, even if I disagree with him, because he thoroughly explains his position and viewpoint.) ...And who knows maybe it is too early to declare it lukewarm successful, since it still surely has time to gain a lot of momentum, but it's just at this moment of time, that's how I'm seeing things.

But it's cool if you don't want to read it, it's just with competition and money involved, I'm just skeptical of claims (that particular Hollywood Reporter article gets its information from the company itself, from a marketing executive no less, and not an independent source; how can I not be skeptical?), especially when some claim we are revisiting Turtlemania currently when the success trajectories of both series/periods are not lining up. **shrug** As for my analytical tendencies :lol:, well I'm sure you've seen that throughout my history of posts and not just with Nick TMNT.

[snake]

http://38.media.tumblr.com/8dbc2eb17b71e9e1db230f121f7fd526/tumblr_n2evaiN8Nw1r1z5a3o8_250.gif

Well back in the Season 2 info thread, I did point out, that the series did reach the number two spot in May 2014 (which CyberCubed used I'm assuming) where it wouldn't appear that post was so negative and could hint at potentially changing things, but it's too early to say. **shrug** It's just checking on websites like By the Numbers (http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/) and The Futon Critic (http://www.thefutoncritic.com/), they are telling me a mainstream contradiction to the devoted fan reception of Nick TMNT. At least I try to use different sources for my arguments rather than just focusing on one article alone. **shrug** I would love for others to present just as many articles and detailed arguments against my position so I can refine my accuracy with this topic. (That's why I welcome Leo656's arguments, even if I disagree with him, because he thoroughly explains his position and viewpoint.) ...And who knows maybe it is too early to declare it lukewarm successful, since it still surely has time to gain a lot of momentum, but it's just at this moment of time, that's how I'm seeing things.

But it's cool if you don't want to read it, it's just with competition and money involved, I'm just skeptical of claims (that particular Hollywood Reporter article gets its information from the company itself, from a marketing executive no less, and not an independent source; how can I not be skeptical?), especially when some claim we are revisiting Turtlemania currently when the success trajectories of both series/periods are not lining up. **shrug** As for my analytical tendencies :lol:, well I'm sure you've seen that throughout my history of posts and not just with Nick TMNT.


......**shrug**

[Cure]

(That's why I welcome Leo656's arguments, even if I disagree with him, because he thoroughly explains his position and viewpoint.) .

Pointless rambling without any facts or sources is a good argument to you. Right.

[As for my analytical tendencies :lol:, well I'm sure you've seen that throughout my history of posts and not just with Nick TMNT

That's assuming I've ever noticed you before now.

[Casey]

So the recent pulling of The Legend of Korra lead me to asking this question.

With beautiful and sophisticated cartoon shows like Young Justice and Korra getting pulled off TV due to low ratings, why do shows like Breadwinners and Spongebob that continue to devour whatever intelligence kids have while watching them continue to thrive in ratings?

Most of these ratings are due to the kids. Do they just not want to be challenged anymore?

I hate to sound like a hipster but back in my day, I remember every kid watching series like Batman: The Animated Series or Gargoyles instead of shows like Doug!

Are Kids getting dumber in terms of their entertainment in TV?

Think of some of the ridiculous cartoons from the 80s. I think every generation looks at the children of the next and wonders this.

[Sumac]

No.
It's just you have acquired oldfart snobby attitude towards young generation, which is fairly typical thing for the most people.

The Real Ghostbusters is my second favorite show and it still rocks as well.
It was one of my favorite toons back when I was a kid.
I have watched couple of episodes a year ago...and it was horrible. Well, maybe it were praticularly bad episodes, but still.

[Leofan26]

It's not that, just the quality dropped a lot regarding TV.

Plus all the Networks aren't helping by advertising all those top rated shows that have went down hill after a number of seasons and not giving new shows with better quality a chance unless it hits those numbers.

So, due to that kids these days have no other choice but to watch that kind of crap. Look at what happened to Legend of Korra for gosh sakes :roll:

[pennydreadful]

I don't care what kids today watch; I just can't understand their obsession with mobile phones! :P

[Refractive Reflections]

Pointless rambling without any facts or sources is a good argument to you. Right.

Well, at least he explains things in detail with his viewpoint, whether it's accurate or not you can decide, just like everyone else does.

That's assuming I've ever noticed you before now.
...But, but I thought you said you knew me ;):lol::
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v245/KevMan87/h42792899_zpse0be2788.gif

Uh-huh. I know your type; you wanna spin and over analyze everything until it fits whatever you want, even when you already have the answers right in front of you. Whatevs, man, continue your crusade. I'm sure you'll convince someone.

So we're gonna jump to conclusions about a person's character based on a few posts? You know... since you now claim you haven't noticed me before. :lol:

(Oh Cure, we're gonna have so much fun here. :P)

[ProactiveMan]

Thinking the younger generation is doomed is the natural order of things. I'm sure my dad thought I was an idiot for watching a show about ninja turtles.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

No.
It's just you have acquired oldfart snobby attitude towards young generation, which is fairly typical thing for the most people.


It was one of my favorite toons back when I was a kid.
I have watched couple of episodes a year ago...and it was horrible. Well, maybe it were praticularly bad episodes, but still.

If it was from the first two seasons it was awesome. If it was after the replacing of Lorenzo Music it was ruined. When I say that I always mean to clarify that the first TWO SEASONS are what is really awesome. After they got rid of Lorenzo Music and Dave Colier became Venkman and they changed Janine's voice it went WAY downhill. I have the Firehouse Box Set of the show. It is the greatest box set of all time for fan service. I have the Party Wagon box set of TMNT and it isn't even CLOSE to the level of quality for fans. I wish it was.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

There's a slow amount of research that's beginning to investigate on whether today's technology (especially with the prevalence of handheld technology, gaming, and high-speed internet) may be conditioning the developing brains of children and adolescents. There's not a direct "cause and effect" relationship, but there are emerging correlations between high-tech gadgets and ADHD/ADD.


Sometimes I feel like today's technology is doing this to everyone, even adults that were once patient.

The less we have to wait for things, the more entitled people might become, and they will keep wanting more and more without appreciating what they have.

Then again, that's exactly what these companies want.

[Mona_Lisa]

The Nick show is their highest rated cartoon after Spongebob. I expect 7 seasons and 150 episodes at the minimum before it ends. The fact that we've already renewed through Season 4 when Season 2 hasn't ended yet says a lot.

Hear that, CyberCubed was positive so lets stop picking on the poor guy for a little while!!!:D

I think the quality of hand drawn animation stinks now days. It might be all in my head but popular cartoons like "adventure time" and others doesn't even compare to OT tmnt or the smurfs as mentioned before...I hate the smurfs but the animation was cute.

I think the shows are terrible to most of the time... Mind numbing, but the trend did start in our generation... with Ren and Stimpy, and Rokos modern life...
Sometimes I feel like today's technology is doing this to everyone, even adults that were once patient.

The less we have to wait for things, the more entitled people might become, and they will keep wanting more and more without appreciating what they have.

Then again, that's exactly what these companies want.

Yeah, technology is making us all stupid, Remember when we had to memorize important phone numbers??? How many phone numbers does the average person have memorized now???

honestly, Korra just isn't good.

It isn't nearly as good as Avatar The last Airbender was anyway....

[MsMarvelDuckie]

Thinking the younger generation is doomed is the natural order of things. I'm sure my dad thought I was an idiot for watching a show about ninja turtles.

Agreed!! Mine did and no doubt still does think the same thing. Probably even more so now that I'm in my late 30's. Then again, his idea of high-class entertainment is NASCAR and movies like Smokey and the Bandit or anything with boobs, cars, and explosions. The most intellectual thing HE watches is NCIS- which is something, at least..... (Meanwhile, I watch everything from TMNT to Hell's Kitchen, Criminal Minds, Modern Family, Leverage, Sleepy Hollow, Walking Dead, American Idol (only last season with Caleb, though), and Family Guy. I sort of run the gamut from "intellectual" entertainment to "mindless" drivel. As long as it's good in the sense that it holds my interest for more than one or two episodes, I can enjoy it for what it is.

[MsMarvelDuckie]

(Sorry for the double post- I felt I needed to add another thought, and it's separate enough that I felt it deserved its own post.) I read an article in one of the scientific magazines last year about how average human intelligence has been slowly declining over the past few generations. I believe it was National Geographic- and one of the possible causes it cited was modern technology and media. It said that average IQ's are lower than they were just 20 or 30 years ago, IIRC.

There was also a study several years ago which showed that Tele-Tubbies was actually causing young children (3-5 yr-olds) to develop slower mentally due to the infantile nature of the show. Hence why it was eventually yanked off the air. Clearly, shows like this DO affect kids' mental development, so it's not so surprising that the mindless sort of "potty humor" and other such cartoons would have similar effects on older kids.

[Wildcat]

Some of the "dumb" shows use the same humor thats been around for years. It was funny to us growing up because it was new to us. Thats the thing about cartoons. The humor can be recycled forever because its target is kids who have never seen it.

Theres some cartoons on now that I don't really care for but they're not bad. I see them and think...I would have loved this growing up.

The only thing that annoys me is cartoons seem to use more potty humor than they used to. To me anyway. Just comes off stupid. I really hate the random-craziness thing though. Thats just a product of the wacky internet age. Its so uncreative.

[Shiro Kame]

I blame it on the TV networks for not even trying to make good children's cartoons. No wonder I can never find anything good on nowadays...

[Slade]

F**k it, yeah they are. :lol:

[Leo656]

Yeah, they are, and it's the parent's fault. I just got home from work, and while I was at the gym I noticed there was this car parked in front, some middle aged black lady was lounging around in the driver's seat, I guess waiting for someone, there was a girl in the passenger seat, looked about 12, and a little boy and girl about 4 or 5 just walking around on the sidewalk. So anyway, eventually, the young kids start putting their hands all over the windows outside the gym, putting their mouths on the glass, hanging on the door handle, blocking people from getting into the gym, so I wave them away. For a minute, they stopped, and instead started hanging all over the car next to them - someone else's car, mind you - pulling on the door handle, hanging off the rear view, streaking up the windows. I keep looking at the lady in the car, and she's not only not doing a thing, she's f*cking laughing about it. Finally, the kids come back and start streaking up the gym windows again. The desk supervisor was busy, so she said, "Could you go smack these f*cking kids for me please?" (Obviously she did not mean literally, but oh lord, how I would have loved to)

So, I open the door, and very politely say to the kids, "Okay, kids, enough. We spend a lot of time washing these windows every day, could you please not streak up the glass? Thank you." Immediately, I hear the lady in the car yelling at me, but I just ignored her and went back inside. So, I sit down at the desk to talk to my co-worker about something; my chair faces the window, so I see the kids get in the car and think that's the end of it. I see the lady point at the window, the older girl about 12 gets out, looks me right in the eye, and smears both hands down the f*cking glass just to be a c*nt. So I stormed outside as they were pulling out and yelled "Don't f*cking do that!" I know they heard me because their windows were open and I heard the old lady yell something back, but I couldn't believe she told her kids/grandkids/whatever to do that sh*t on purpose. Unbelievable.

No f*cking class. And it starts with the parents. If my old man had seen me doing sh*t like that, he would've put my face through the glass for being a dipsh*t. I know this is an unpopular opinion anymore, but the very second that smacking your kids to teach them discipline became "child abuse", we began breeding a society of ignorant, disrespectful little sh*theads.

[pharaohyami5000]

*sigh* Pretty much the "kids will be kids" mentality from them, yes?

The worst part of them "dealing graffiti" on the windows is the possibilities of them not only being dirty, but the chemicals used to clean the windows may be a little hazardous.

[Sumac]

If it was from the first two seasons it was awesome.
I don't know. I watched dubbed version, so I can't say who voiced who and even if I watched original, i don't think I would have recognised any of the actors. I am not into celebrities.

This episode was about some ghost orchestra or something. In the end of it Ghostbusters were in musical competition with them / it. The whole thing was stupid as hell.

[T-U-R-T-L-E POWA!]

I don't know. I watched dubbed version, so I can't say who voiced who and even if I watched original, i don't think I would have recognised any of the actors. I am not into celebrities.

This episode was about some ghost orchestra or something. In the end of it Ghostbusters were in musical competition with them / it. The whole thing was stupid as hell.

Yeah that doesn't sound like an ep from the first 2 seasons. Most of those episodes were based on mythology and classic horror and things like that. I actually consider it Straczynski's best work. I like his work there better than any of his comic stuff I have read.

[Sumac]

I actually consider it Straczynski's best work.
I don't know much about his work and don't remember much Ghostbusters cartoon. I liked his Captain Power and Soliders of Future and Babylon 5.
I need to rewatch Captain Power someday. It was the series, that made me interested and cyborgs / robots.