Background of Research

In the early 1990s, where social media was not as much involved and
there were not as many alternative devices available as today, watching
television is considered as one of the few entertainments available to the
90s kids. Simultaneously, with the rising popularity of anime across Japan
and United States, televised animations were mass-produced and
broadcasted throughout the whole world 2. One hugely popular anime
show at that time was Pokemon. Pokemon introduces to kids the themes
of collecting, training and battling: by collecting pocket monsters with
PokeBalls, training them and competing against other Pocket trainers,
thereby ultimately becoming the Pokemon Master6. Children as young as
aged 2 were appealed to Pokemon series not only due to the visually
distinct, aesthetic features of the Pokemon characters 3; but also the
notions

of

mastering

challenges

and

continuous

desire

for

top

performance in the storyline5. With the launch of Pokemon shows on tv, it

instantly dominated the heart of 90s kids, and was a resounding success
worldwide.
Purpose of Research
With a growing number of children watching Pokemon, this arose a
problem where these young, enthusiastic Pokemon fans became addicted
and hence spent a lot of time watching the episodes. Given the extensive
amount of time children spent viewing Pokemon shows, many parents
were concerned as to whether the early exposure to Pokemon could
influence the cognitive development and academic achievement of their
kids. Not surprisingly, studies have shown a strong association between
television viewing and its influence on children`s development, attitudes
and behaviours1. Therefore, this research paper aims to explore how
watching Pokemon on tv will affect the development and behavior of
children. There are three specific objectives that this paper will focus on:
(a) To investigate the impacts on individual child, taking into consideration
the life lessons and important core values that one can learn at the same
time the materialistic attitudes that may aroused from watching Pokemon

(b) To discuss the conflict that may arise between parents and children
due to parents decrying the Pokemon obsession of their kids.

(c) To examine the interactions among Pokemon young fans with different
backgrounds
Scope of Research
This research paper will only investigate and discuss the findings related
to the 90s kids who were aged between seven to twelve years old. This
range of age group was chosen because children at this age range are
adept at imagining things, both positive and negative, and hence more
susceptible in receiving all kinds of information they have seen on tv to
base their thoughts on7.
1

https://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/18_01_03.pdf

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/004593809190034I
2 http://mediag.jp/project/project/images/JapaneseAnimationGuide.pdf
3 http://www.groupexcelindia.com/vistas/pdf/3_THE_ALLURE_OF_THE_ORIENT.pdf
4 https://books.google.com.sg/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=RM70AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA5&dq=children+attracted+to+an
ime&ots=Y_xoeCMhRB&sig=Z9Y7snjKV5uykU_KXW3MSXkQ1lw#v=onepage&q&f
=false
5 http://www.groupexcelindia.com/vistas/pdf/3_THE_ALLURE_OF_THE_ORIENT.pdf
6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_universe

8
http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Faradillah_Iqmar_Omar/publication/2761
45912_THE_PERCEIVED_IMPACT_OF_ANIME_ON_SCHOOL_CHILDREN'S_AGGR
ESSIVE_BEHAVIOUR/links/5551812508ae739bdb921d35.pdf
7 https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=cTWcDCpiAIC&pg=PT136&lpg=PT136&dq=children+seven+to+twelve+wh
y+choose+this+age+group&source=bl&ots=GRusmbTosk&sig=a_kd7ImH7
TQjzDlwCgX_sLRF1wA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEYQ6AEwB2oVChMIvuXBipm9

yAIVCXKOCh1tgwDc#v=onepage&q=children%20seven%20to%20twelve
%20why%20choose%20this%20age%20group&f=false