Aisha Khan

Eng 226
12/7/2022
Aaron Anderson

Why SpongeBob Is Detrimental To Children

You may not be familiar with the name SpongeBob but for others the name brings back childhood

memories in front of the TV . SpongeBob is an American comedy television series created by marine

biologist and educator Stephen Hillenburg ( Wikipedia ) .The show is about the adventures of a lovable

sponge and his starfish sidekick in the underwater world they know as “Bikini Bottom” (Nick Jr ) . The

series premièred on July 17 , 1999 and gained popularity by its second season . It has also won an

variety of awards such as six Annie Awards , eight Golden Reel awards , and 19 Kid’s Choice Awards .

SpongeBob has inspired three feature films and two spin-off series , with four additional films being

planned , and three chracter spin-off films for Paramount + ( Wikipedia ) . The series primarily takes

place in a fictional setting known as Bikini Bottom , whose citizens are mostly sea creatures who live in

ship-like houses and use “boatmobiles “ ( a combination of cars and boats ) to get around ( Wikipedia ) .

The series being a comedy also has many jokes that viewers enjoy . However , researchers report that

toddlers that spent their time watching SpongeBob often did worse on tests that required problem -

solving and attention (NyTimes) . SpongeBob is a classic show that has been enjoyed through the ages

but there are negative ways that this can affect children .

For example , SpongeBob has been clinically shown to be bad for kids’ mental function . In a study

done by University of Virginia Professor Angelene Lilliard 60 children were assigned to either watch

SpongeBob or the PBS show Caillou . After 9 minutes the kids who watched SpongeBob did worse on the

mental function tests than the ones that watched Caillou . She says that SpongeBob isn’t just to blame

for this , as most fast-paced cartoons seem to have this effect on children(NBC4) . Due to the nature of

the cartoon being so fast-paced this requires more effort from children to focus on what is happening in

the show that their brains can not keep up .

Aisha Khan
Eng 226
12/7/2022
Aaron Anderson

Another reason is that SpongeBob has been shown to contain cartoon violence with some mature

elements . For example , Nickelodeon stated that two specific episodes had been pulled from

SpongeBob due to their inappropriate content . The show also contains adult jokes that pass over young

children’s heads but are understood but many adults . For example , In one scene SpongeBob is

instructed to be “assertive “ in which he responds to by sticking his finger in and out of an pocket which

most kids would not understand (Ranker ) . There have also been several scenes of nudity in which

characters are shown naked or just fully naked . There have also been scenes that show characters ,

namely SpongeBob being blown up . Some episodes may be scarier for younger viewers and influence

their behavior as they contain scenes of kidnapping , stalking , and even assault . In fact , Kazakhstan

has banned the cartoon saying that they had witnessed how the behavior in the show remains in the

child’s mind and influences how they behave(Mirror) . Another example is in an episode called “Jolly

Lodgers” , in which Squidward electrocutes 20-30 people in a Jellyfish costume . And in another episode

called “ Dying for Pie “ SpongeBob performs open hurt surgery on squidward and accidentally cuts open

his heart , which sprays a lot of blood . The show also has characters stomping on each other and in an

episode prehistoric Gary is seen stomping on squidward . The show also contains some sexual themes

that may not sit well with parents knowing that their child is watching this kind of show . For example ,

SpongeBob leaves Patrick a cake that says “ Sorry about the Scabies ! “ ( Buzzfeed) . For those that are

not familiar with it , Scabies is an condition where mites that are burrowing into your skin cause a rash

and this is usually spread through sex . There was also another episode where a character inserted a

coin into a seahorse thinking it was a kiddie ride but he inserted the coin into a slot offscreen

(Buzzfeed) . There was yet another adult joke in which SpongeBob puts jelly on his face in order to

attract jellyfish and asks who wants to lick his cheeks ( Buzzfeed) .
Aisha Khan
Eng 226
12/7/2022
Aaron Anderson

In conclusion even though SpongeBob is a show that has lasted throughout the ages and is something

that is classic , we still need to be careful about what we are exposing our kids to . Even though , you

would think that kids would not be able to understand the joke they could still pick up behaviors that

are not appropriate and this could affect other aspects of their life such as mental function .

Works Cited

•. “Study Says SpongeBob Bad for Kids’ Mental Function.” NBC4 Washington, 11 Sept. 2012,

www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-study-says-SpongeBob-bad-for-kids-mental-

function/2099924/.

Richardson, Liz. “21 Hidden Adult Jokes in “SpongeBob” You Missed When You Were a Kid.”

BuzzFeed, www.buzzfeed.com/lizmrichardson/SpongeBob-hidden-adult-jokes. Accessed

8 Dec. 2022.

“SpongeBob SquarePants / Family Unfriendly Violence.” TV Tropes,

tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FamilyUnfriendlyViolence/SpongeBobSquarePants.

“SpongeBob SquarePants | Nick.” Www.nick.com, www.nick.com/shows/SpongeBob-

squarepants#about. Accessed 8 Dec. 2022.

Wikipedia Contributors. “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept.

2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants.
Aisha Khan
Eng 226
12/7/2022
Aaron Anderson