ÜBER DIESE EPISODE
If children’s entertainment is now better than hooking and holding attention, are kids actually sharpening their focus- or is the screen doing most of the work for them? In this episode of Born Before Broadband, Rob explores how kid's shows have evolved alongside algorithm-driven media. More specifically, the episode analyzes pacing, stimulus density, and the science of attention. What changed, why did it change, and what did children lose as cartoons became better at cracking the code to their brains?
1. Potts, Huston & Wright — 1986. The effects of television form and violent content on boys' attention and social behavior.
2. Koolstra, van Zanten, Lucassen & Ishaak — 2004. The Formal Pace of Sesame Street over 26 Years.
3. Linebarger and colleagues — 2009. Formal Production Features of Infant and Toddler DVDs.
4. Linebarger & Walker — 2005. Infants' and Toddlers' Television Viewing and Language Outcomes.
5. Piotrowski — 2014. Participatory Cues and Program Familiarity Predict Young Children's Learning From Educational Television.
6. Hinten, Scarf & Imuta — 2025. Meta-Analytic Review of the Short-Term Effects of Media Exposure on Children's Attention and Executive Functions
