With just a click of a remote, students can revisit television channels such as PBS or Nickelodeon, which feature various cartoons like “Wild Kratts,” “My Little Pony” or “Spongebob” that once marked their youth. With a focus on teaching key life lessons in easy-to-understand terms and with a lighthearted tone, these shows are mainly targeted toward a younger audience. However, many older students continue to enjoy watching cartoons for a wide variety of reasons.
Starting at the age of five, sophomore Olivia Olsen (she/her) said she often watched shows like “Adventure Time,” “The Amazing World of Gumball” and “Power Rangers” after being introduced to them by her older brothers. She said that her enjoyment of these childhood shows mainly stems from their simplicity.
“It’s just something that you don’t really have to put in a lot of brainpower or attention necessarily into watching,” Olsen said. “It’s just something you can put on in the background for noise or entertainment.”
For Olsen, these shows are just casual entertainment after a long day. Compared to shows that are targeted more to her age demographic, Olsen said that she still finds various aspects of children’s films enjoyable, like the ease of the plot.
“I definitely think I prefer them over reality TV shows,” Olsen said. “I don’t usually watch TV or shows that have a lot of deep themes just because I really only watch TV to relax or to be entertained.”
Olsen enjoys revisiting franchises like “Tinker Bell” for a dose of nostalgia and to appreciate the past. Overall, she believes watching children’s shows isn’t something to be surprised about.
“It’s pretty normalized in my opinion,” Olsen said. “There might be people that think it’s a little childish, but other than that, it’s pretty common.”
Similar to Olsen, junior Sophia Prater (she/her) believes that consuming children’s entertainment is common amongst her peers and is becoming a way to connect with others.
“Freshman year, I was talking to a sophomore, and I only started talking to her because she was talking about “Miraculous Ladybug,” and then I joined their conversation, and then we just became friends, and we’re still friends today,” she said.
To her, the nostalgia that comes with bingeing well-loved series is something that can be shared with friends, whether it’s the topic of conversation or just a way to revisit the past. Prater sees the increased interest in childhood films as more than just surface level entertainment to her; it’s a way of being in touch with her childhood self.
“I think Gen Z really wants to be more in touch with childhood because sometimes, it personally felt like it went by too fast,” said Prater. “And especially COVID-19, it kind of got taken away a little bit in a developmental period.”
Prater said that she sees children’s films as a nostalgic, welcome break to the sullen reality TV shows today. Whether it’s a way to reflect or an uncomplicated show to unwind to, she values children’s films as something she’ll always go back to every now and then.
“After every series show that you watch, you kind of want a relief, and then you go and watch something that’s more comforting, like those childhood shows,” Prater said.
