Television has become a vital part to many people’s lives. Adults and children alike spend a lot of their time sitting in front of a screen.

The amount of television that our generation consumes keeps going up, but the quality of the television that is aired on the networks is going down.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, kids spend more than seven hours a day watching TV, playing on computers, cell phones and other media. Preschoolers are believed to be in front of a television for more than 32 hours a week.

What children watch now does not compare to the television shows we used to watch when we were kids.

Tv shows such as Sesame Street, The Magic School Bus, Liberty Lids, Cyberchase and even Blue’s Clues were cartoons that were entertaining but at the same time they were educational.

We also spent many Saturday mornings anticipating the antics of Tom and Jerry, Looney Toons, Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs and Hey Arnold. They were all shows that did not necessarily have educational meaning, but were interesting, well-made and enjoyable classics.

When we turn on Cartoon Netowrk or Nickelodeon today, cartoons especially are not as “family friendly” as they used to be. Some cartoons are inappropriate and many others are just stupid.

The Regular Show and Adventure Time are two shows from this generation that are popular today yet are not very appropriate for children. Though the shows are rated “PG”, they contain inappropriate language, sexual content and inappropriate humor.

What happened to shows that had some sort of substance?

The Parents Television Council did an analysis of more than 100 episodes of programs on Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Nick at Night and Adult Swim. They found over 1,500 incidents of explicit sex, drugs and offensive language.

Back in the heyday of Yogi Bear, the Flintstones and Bugs Bunny, parents did not have to worry about what their children watched. They knew cartoons were usually safe, though sometimes comically violent.

In our childhood, parents could feel moderately comfortable about us watching Recess and Doug (Spongebob, however, was another story).

When you turn on a TV now, you realize cartoons of this generation do not compare to the ones that we used to watch as kids. They are far more crude, lame and have no overall substance.

Let’s go back to the days of Rugrats and Arthur.