There is a coordinated attack on Coco Melon because parents/caretakers are being hyper irresponsible and not spending enough time with their kids and instead let the TV co-parent (but I also feel like the attack is happening because Coco Melon is unsanctioned).
The attack on Coco Melon is weird when you consider that most of the media recommended as alternatives to Coco Melon has the same songs/video styles as Coco Melon (even Sesame Street has a few videos with the same songs). These alternatives are ultimately not the remedy! And very sure when the alternatives start becoming popular these alternatives will be seen in the same light as Coco Melon and whatever developmental issues a kid has will be pinned on the media (when the kid doesn't touch grass).
Kids will want to watch/listen to any media that is catchy. Coco Melon doesn't even have the catchiest version of some of their biggest songs, like Baby Shark, but they do repurpose the catchy part on their other songs more often. Also also, Coco Melon has been creating Youtube videos for over a decade and Youtube has made analytics available to viral creators for years now. Many content Youtubers also have access to the same watchtime analytics that Coco Melon is being criticized for using. This is the internet, any creator who has a large audience can fine tune their media in ways previously unimagined. But ultimately regardless of these tools, the audience will always have their subjective taste, as every individual has subjective tastes.
Subjective taste is how your child would always prefer you read them their favorite bedtime story on a frequent basis (if you do read them bedtime stories), they would want to sing and dance to their favorite songs. In some cases they will learn to prefer stories they see their parents/caretakers enjoy.
Spend time with your kids and don't have them watching content you have not curated from a device connected to the internet (even with your supervision). It's also only going to get worse because we are now at a time where kids content isn't being produced by sanctioned/publicly funded entities. Kids focused internet content was crazier before the algorithm discovered channels like Coco Melon (which were initially by independent creators who filled a void). Y'all ever saw the Disney wrap off cos play kids movies??
Here's one of the videos that attacks Coco Melon.
https://youtu.be/YEFptHp0AmM
Spot on! It's high time parents took responsibility instead of blaming the screen. Kids crave catchy content, it's natural. And remember, the internet's a wild place, Cocomelon's just filling a void. Engage with your kids 💪
I just remembered that one other talking point in one of the videos attacking Coco Melon is that Coco Melon has way more frequent cuts then it's contemporaries. A talking point which may be intriguing but its a case of grading a fish on it's ability to climb a tree.
This is a talking which may have been inspired by the wonderful work of CinemaStix who took a deep dive into the average shot length of a hollywood film being 3 seconds (down from 5 seconds 25 years ago and used to be over 10 seconds in movies from 30s and 40s). Watch the CinemaStix video here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_Zwl6_nKY
There's also a wired article about this you can check out.
https://www.wired.com/2014/09/cinema-is-evolving/
Back to the attack on Coco Melon. Yes, the average shot length of a Coco Melon video would be 1 to 2 seconds (way shorter then it's contempories in the kids content category). But this talking point ignores the fact that Coco Melon is not making STORY VIDEOS... but instead it is making animated MUSIC VIDEOS of nursery rhymes. These are two different types of video content that requires two different types of editing. I can bet all the sats in my alby wallet that 99% of all music videos have more frequent and shorter cuts then your average vlog/talk show/movie.
Not everyone can be Francis and the Lights when it comes to making music videos! And most definitely not everyone will have the financial/creative budget to make thrilling videos on a regular basis. So... unless you want to explore the Francis and the Lights aesthetic for kids content the frequent cuts are gonna be a staple for Coco Melon and any other kids music video creator in the space.
https://youtu.be/bhtoDhlffsE
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Never heard of Cocomelon before reading your post.
The teachers & childcare workers I’ve spoken to since my daughter’s birth have all told me that young kids should not be exposed to tablets & phones, especially if they’re unsupervised. Could be Disney or some independent production, doesn’t matter - the results are more or less the same.
My family is lucky in that my husband and I take turns reading her bedtime stories. We chose not to expose her to animated content when she was a baby & toddler.
Now she can watch two or three supervised episodes of Comfy Couch a week. (It’s the only kids’ show she knows because she saw it at my parents’ house 😂 Wait until she finds out what she’s been missing out on 😂😂😂😂)
Jokes aside, I feel for single parents with a full time job and a home to look after. It’s tough to find the energy at the end of the day to read to your kids. https://image.nostr.build/7d714037642ce78a895133d74212b2405985565dee5c733474af4079e4d2b953.jpg
Yep, it's always a boost to keep kids from the screens consuming media. Toddlers want to increase their XP by trying as many things as their sleep schedule allows (or whatever they can imitate from the grown ups around them).
The most postive side effect of keeping your kids away from a tablet and phone is that you keep yourself away from the Black Mirror as well.
You can watch videos of kids going through screen time withdrawals because parents aren’t spending enough time with there kids. My sons 5 months old and we’re keeping him away from all screens but he still gravitates to the phones, computers tvs at restaurants. Coca melon is like crack for kids my son watched it for 10 minutes he didn’t move his head once he sat there lifeless and just stared at the tv and we both agreed to limit all screen time
Yep, the screens in the outside world are harder to avoid. But try singing along with the kid next time they see Coco Melon videos in the wild. If they do like singing with you they will at least stop being zombies and join your duet.
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