Marissa Fritz
Paradigm Shift: Theme 2
A Shift From “All That” to “Where’s It At?”
From Sabrina the Teenage Witch to Melissa and Joey, Doug to Fairy Odd Parents, and FRIENDS to Modern Family: While a decade may not seem like enough time to become nostalgic, its is clear that kids of the 2000s are no longer watching the same shows of the preceding decade. As the twentieth century came to a close, so did the era of family friendly TV. Long gone are the shows that found ways to entertain a wide age range of children as well as parents. Due to the technological boom of the twenty first century and the accompanying change in the role of the media, television shows have become more age specific, lacking the blend of generations found in the shows of the 1990s. This so called “Digital Age” has created a heightened awareness to what children are watching as well as increase in competition between stations and other forms of media. These factors have led to a clear shift away from a general audience and more towards a targeted age group, especially when referencing children’s programming.
With new forms of media and advancements in technology, children have access to more programs and information than ever before. According to a study at University of Michigan, “TV viewing among kids is at an eight year high.” In addition, the study added, “Media technology now offers more ways to access TV content, such as on the Internet, cell phones and iPods. This has led to an increase in time spent viewing.” (Boyse 1) This critical awareness of the changing media has led to widespread efforts to control what children watch. New websites and organizations have been formed to advocate parental blocking and restricting certain programs. For example, a popular site called “Commonsense Media” was created in 2003. The website rates programs to provide information about how old children should be before they watch certain shows. The site even stated, “We believe parents should have a choice and a voice about the media our kids consume and create…. We believe appropriate regulations about right time, right place, and right manner exist. They need to be upheld by our elected and appointed leaders.” The pressures from such organizations as well as concerns from parents, has contributed to TV stations shift away from a large audience and more towards age specific TV shows.
In the previous decade there was an abundance of shows that the whole family could sit down together and enjoy. However, with the heightened fear of media exposure, has come more age specific shows geared at a narrow age group. For example, during the 1990s the popular kids’ station, Nickelodeon, had one channel. On this station they had aired all of their shows with only distinction being “Nick at Night.” These shows would be aimed at a slightly more mature audience and were shown later at night when younger children were asleep. Since then Nickelodeon has created three more divisions within the station. In 1999 Nickelodeon added Nick Jr. followed by Teen Nick and Nicktoons in 2002. These divisions were all aimed at more specific audiences, with Nick Junior designed for kids under 7, Nicktoons for 7-10, and Teen Nick for teens. These distinctions then became separate channels. (History of Nickelodeon) All of these additions occurred during the end of the 90s and beginning of the 2000s, showing the clear shift towards age specific shows.
Furthermore, the shows that began to air on these stations were no loner widely popular. For example, from 1991 to 1994 Nickelodeon aired a cartoon called, “Doug”. Doug was an average grade school kid keeping a journal of his everyday encounters. His stories of love, bullies, and friends resonated with a large age group. (Doug-Plot Summary) In fact, Commonsense Media showed that adults gave the show 4 stars with one parent even saying, “Loved as a kid, Adore as an adult.” Commonsense stated that the show was meant for anyone over the age of six, but the website showed that even teens enjoyed the show. One sixteen year old gave the show five stars and commented, “Great classic for kids and everyone else.” These review clearly demonstrate the idea that the programs were able to resonate with a large audience. However today’s shows on Nicktoons are not getting the same response. Commonsense gave one of the popular cartoons of today, Fairly Odd Parents, three stars. One parent even commented, “Not worth it at any age.” This clear shift in the ratings and opinions of children’s cartoons shows how age specific shows have changed the dynamic of the audience.
Not only have TV stations become more age specific because of fear of what children are exposed to, but also because of an increase in competition with other stations and forms of media. Due to the increase in technology, there are now more stations as well as other forms of media like “Netflix” and “Youtube” that compete for viewers. According to one website, “With increased competition from adult programs, along with the surge in satellite channels, kids’ shows are increasingly moving to their own specialized channels, and thus away from terrestrial output…. One marked reaction by TV schedulers is the decrease in more traditional children’s entertainment.” (Stanford1) Channels that previously catered to both adults and children are now choosing to focus attention on the adult audience to stay competitive with the increasing number of other networks.
One clear example of this change is the transformation of ABC. This network used to have a Friday night lineup called, “TGIF”, where families could gather to watch “family friendly” shows. This included popular titles such as “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”, “Boy Meets World”, and “Full House”. (ABC News) In 2000 TGIF ended and ABC did not begin a new series for families (Bell 1). Instead, one of their partner companies, ABC Family became the main source for, “family friendly” television (FundingUniverse). Though the shows that have been aired on this station have become increasingly less “family friendly”, with shows like “Pretty Little Liars, “Melissa and Joey”, and “Secret Life of the American Teenager”” focusing on young adult and adult content in order to stay competitive. According to an article published in the New York Daily News, “ABC Family has taken heat from ‘family values’ groups about some of its shows, which have no shortage of sex themes and mean girls.” The article also added that the ABC Family president, Michael Riley, “deflected a question about those criticisms, saying the ratings indicate the audience is unconcerned.” (Hinckley 1) This shows how television stations have changed their focus, disregarding the family aspect to keep up with the fast paced digital age of unlimited choices.
As stations have opted to eliminate family friendly entertainment in hopes of cornering an older demographic, adult TV shows have become more risqué. During the 1990s many programs that were designed for adults could still be, and were, watched by numerous preteens and teenagers. The online magazine, Thought Catalog, published an article about the ways childhood has changed since the 90s. In the piece the author stated that in the 90s, “If you had cool parents, they would let you stay up with them and watch racy shows like Friends. Now mommy and daddy watch True Blood and Game of Thrones and shows where people drink and smoke…” (Ceron 1) This shows how stations have changed their programs to cater specifically for adults. The new forms of media have created competition that has led stations to create shows that are more mature and focused on the adult audience. This acts as a barrier, dividing the generations and separating shows into distinct age groups.
Kids can no longer watch adult channels without seeing acts of violence, drugs, or sex. Shows in the 90s often had these aspects, but they were more ambiguous and subtle. For example, Friends often discussed adult topics such as sexual relations and drinking. However, even Commonsense Media has recognized that these topics were not directly addressed. The site stated, “The topics are treated sensitively but with the irreverence befitting a sitcom.” Popular adult sitcoms are not handled the same way today. Shows such as Modern Family handle these topics in a much more overt and oftentimes graphic manner. For example, in this show the eldest daughter is expelled from college for underage drinking and returns to live with her parents. (Hughes 1) This change from subtle adult references has shifted towards overt adult material to better engage the targeted audience and remain competitive in the industry.
This need to stay competitive coupled with the fear of what shows children are watching has led to a complete shift in the entertainment world. The era when an entire family could sit down and enjoy a TV show together is long gone. Due to endless new forms of media, programs are no longer able to close the generation gaps forming between age groups. In this century, while mom is watching Melissa and Joey in the family room, dad is in the basement watching Modern Family, and little Johnny is watching Fairly Odd Parents on his computer; the age of family friendly entertainment has passed.
http://www.theretronickelodeon.webs.com/thehistoryofnick.htm
CHECK GRAMMAR:
Examples:
Paragraph starting with Furthermore- change loner to longer.
Paragraph with “Not only” — separate word and number in citation.
Add more dates and historical points for the transition over time- but overall I like how you have a lot of evidence from shows you’ve watched and I think you did a great job of keeping it interesting.