It was once believed that the main danger lay in the fast pace, but new research refutes this belief. Psychologists studied two separate aspects: the speed of scene changes and the level of imaginative plot, analyzing dozens of scientific studies and publishing their findings in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
First, the study showed that the speed of editing did not have a significant effect; the children performed equally well on the tasks whether they watched fast or slow scenes.
Excessive fantasy in plots has a clear impact, as cartoons filled with magic and violations of the laws of nature negatively affect a child's ability to concentrate and control their behavior. This is because a child's brain tries to process what it sees; when the plot is realistic, it is easier for the child to understand because it resembles everyday life. However, in fantastical cases, the child has to exert more effort to understand unfamiliar events, such as characters flying or animals talking, which consumes brain energy and leaves fewer resources for concentration and self-discipline.
As a result, a child's attention span and ability to control unwanted impulses, such as pressing a button at the wrong time or being distracted by a bright visual stimulus, may decrease. Researchers suggest this effect is linked to the cognitive strain of unrealistic events, while the child's age, gender, and viewing duration have virtually no impact on the final outcome.
