My Peace of Mind

So I’m a nanny. I nanny 3 kids in 1st, 3rd, and 5th grade. That being said, I watch a ton a Disney Channel, even if it’s by force.

When we were in 5th grade, Disney Channel rocked. Boy Meets World, Lizzie McGuire, Even Stevens…the list of shows about average(ish) families with average(ish) kids goes on and on. It was certainly validating watching Topanga and Cory chase each other, Lizzie get bullied by Kate, and Louis get criticized by his whole family about living in his own filth. Basically, it made us feel like in comparison, we were lucky.

Now let’s just do a quick run-down on today’s DC shows:

-Hannah Montana: Well she lives a double life and is a famous rock star and people don’t even know.

-Wizards of Waverly Place: They’re freaking WIZARDS.

-Shake it Up!: They’re the stars of an insanely popular show in Chicago and are regarded as being a couple of the best dancers in the area. Andddd they’re not that good.

-ANT Farm: Haven’t heard of it? Don’t feel too bad, it’s not good. It stands for Advanced Natural Talents,  so of course, everyone is talented. Advanced and talented. Cool.

-My Babysitter’s a Vampire: LIKE, SERIOUSLY???? Come on now.

So what can we take from all this? Pretend we don’t know that Louis Stevens went onto become one of the richest and most famous heartthrobs in the country, and that Lizzie McGuire scored a role on Gossip Girl, married a hockey star, and is now +1. Instead of watching TV to feel better about of their mediocre lives on the playground, kids today watch, on a daily basis, kids that are a million times more talented than they’ll ever be.  I’m pretty sure this is going to have some lasting effect that’s really deep and important, but it’s hard to know what that’ll be. I’d guess that 1) This generation is totally unmotivated because they’ll never be good enough anyway, or 2) Everyone’s like “I can be whatever I want to be if I just work hard!!” Should kids today be looking up to the Justin Russos of the world, or the Beans?

I mean I have an opinion, but I’m not one to be a pessimist. I’ll re-evaluate in 20 years.