Nick to Nick to Nick Nick Nick!

When you think of Nickelodeon, what is it that you think of? Most people probably think of the hip and popular television shows like Rugrats, and Doug that we viewed when our generation was growing up. I too used to think of these popular television shows. Thanks to this article, I find myself thinking that maybe Nick was not so innocent.

Nick has a reputation of playing good-quality shows with little violence and sex. It was always trying to stay ahead of the game by amping up its broadcasting. When Nick became a hit, the company opened Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando Florida and made Nickelodeon Magazine available to everyone by giving out free copies at any local Pizza Hut. With the creation of this, and popular Nicktoons, reaching out to kids all across the United States in the mid-nineties, Nick had no other choice but be an epic success. One of the network's most popular shows, Rugrats, came out with Rugrats the Movie, which produced over 100 million dollars—the first animated, non-Disney movie to do so. In the mid-nineties, Nick.com hit the scene, recently becoming one of the most popular websites between six-to-fourteen year-olds.

My perception of Nickelodeon is that its ideology is family-friendly and safe for all young teens and children to watch. But I also think there are guidelines that should not be crossed when dealing with children as their brains are sensitive and not fully developed in a lot of aspects. Young minds are particularly challenged along the lines of violence and sex. A lot of children on these sites are naive when it comes to abstinence, safe sex, and violence. When they get on these sites, it's not to find links leading to other violent games, but to play their favorite ones, pertaining to the shows they watch. There are lines that are being crossed, and it looks like Nickelodeon does have a reason to try and clean up their reputation. The fact that Nickelodeon lingers children onto their website and then posts links to other dirty games, like "Naughty Classroom - 'Hot for teacher?...Here's your chance to fulfill your ultimate childhood fantasy. Naughty Classroom will leave you begging for more homework'" simply appalls me and leaves me stunned.

The combination of the media, cartoons, and websites makes it very difficult for children to mold into their own bodies and beliefs. Our children are getting on this website because they like the shows they filter out on their channels. These websites can distort their perceptions of reality. Americans become teen mothers more often than in the past. If six year-olds are being exposed to this type of material, how can we expect them to keep their innocence? Our children are being tricked into possibly getting more than they bargained for.