The current landscape of US children’s television: violent, prosocial, educational, and fantastical content

Abstract

The present study examined currently popular children’s television shows to determine the prevalence of violent, prosocial, educational, and fantastical content (including fantastical events and anthropomorphism). Network, style, and content ratings were collected for 88 shows using a combination of Common Sense Media and laboratory ratings applied to two randomly-selected episodes of each show. Overall, currently popular children’s television shows were most often animated and contained little violent, prosocial, or educational content, but a great deal of fantastical content. Interrelations among variables were also examined. Shows with fantastical events were both more violent and more prosocial than shows without, and shows with anthropomorphism were more prosocial than shows without. The network on which a show aired predicted violent, prosocial, and educational content, but not fantastical content. Children’s television today is not as violent as might be believed, but nor is it particularly prosocial or educational. It is highly fantastical. The implications of the landscape for children’s behavior, learning, and cognition are discussed.