Experts have claimed that popular children’s cartoons such as Peppa Pig and Frozen are “too violent” for children, The Sun reports. A study determined that of the six kids’ TV series and 10 children’s movies included, roughly nine depictions of painful incidents were contained in an hour’s worth of episodes, sparking the warning.
- To be fair, there was a lot of violence. The study looked at popular TV show including Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol and movies such as Toy Story 3, Finding Dory, and Frozen. Their finding? In 52 hours of programming, there were 454 “painful incidents” shown.
- “Violent injury” is the most common in kids’ TV shows and movies. The study revealed that depictions of violent injury was found in 79% of the children’s entertainment included, which is pretty high. Much of the pain was inflicted on male characters with little empathy shown by bystanders.
- Experts are worried about the long-term effects on kids. While it may not seem like cartoon violence is a big deal, British and Canadian psychologists believe the issues may not be seen until the kids are older. “These programs could do much more to help by modeling it in different ways and crucially by showing more empathy when characters experience pain,” said Dr. Abbie Jordan of England’s Bath University.
- Of course, this isn’t necessarily a new trend. Think back to old Looney Tunes episodes in which characters were crushed with anvils and blown up with TNT. Those would count as violent incidents and they date back many decades and we’re all doing okay. Is cartoon violence really a serious issue as it’s portrayed in most of these TV shows and movies? The experts say yes, but something tells me many parents won’t be so easily convinced.
