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From Protected to Targeted: How Entertainment for Kids Quietly Changed
- dktippit3
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
A Three-Era Look at Media, Morality, and Childhood
Every generation has had entertainment that pushed boundaries. That part is not new.
What is new is who the boundaries are being pushed for.
Forty to twenty-five years ago, there was a strong cultural assumption that children needed protection—even when adults chose to consume edgier content. Today, that assumption has largely disappeared. Instead of being shielded, kids are often the target audience for messages that directly conflict with a biblical worldview.
Let’s walk through this shift in three eras, acknowledging the problems of each time—without pretending they are all the same.
ERA ONE: 1978–1988
Clear Lines, Strong Guardrails
This era was not perfect. Sin existed. But content for kids was largely protected, and adults understood the difference between children’s entertainment and adult entertainment.
📺 What Kids Watched
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
Sesame Street
The Cosby Show
Little House on the Prairie
These shows emphasized:
Family
Moral lessons
Respect for adults
Right and wrong
Even when faith wasn’t explicit, biblical values were assumed, not challenged.
🎵 Music Kids Heard
Michael Jackson
Whitney Houston
Lionel Richie
Yes, some lyrics were shallow. Some were romantic. But sexual identity, gender ideology, and anti-faith messaging were not directed at children.
⚠️ What Was “Negative” (But Not Predominant)
Adult comedies
R-rated movies
Some rebellious music
Key difference: Adults knew it was adult content. Kids were not the target.
ERA TWO: 1989–2001
The Cracks Begin to Show
This era marks a slow drift, not a sudden collapse. Boundaries still existed, but they were tested more often.
📺 Kids & Teen Entertainment
Boy Meets World
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Full House
These shows:
Tackled harder topics
Still upheld family and moral growth
Usually ended with a lesson
🎵 Music Shift
Nirvana
Tupac Shakur
Dr. Dre
This is where:
Grunge expressed despair and anger
Gangsta rap glorified violence and immorality
But here’s the key: ⚠️ This music was controversial ⚠️ Parents pushed back ⚠️ It was not marketed to middle schoolers as formative identity material
Parental advisory labels still meant something.
ERA THREE: 2002–2026
From Exposure to Indoctrination
This is the major shift.
Entertainment today doesn’t just contain unbiblical ideas—it often teaches them, celebrates them, and aims them directly at children and teens.
📺 TV Shows Aimed at Youth
Heartstopper
Sex Education
Adolescence
These shows:
Center identity around sexuality
Present biblical morality as harmful
Treat self-expression as the highest good
Often frame parents, faith, or tradition as obstacles
🎵 Music Today
Billie Eilish
Olivia Rodrigo
Chappell Roan
Themes commonly include:
Sexual autonomy
Emotional despair without hope
Identity defined by desire
Celebration of confusion as authenticity
📚 Books & Media
YA novels now frequently include LGBTQ themes as expected, not optional
Video platforms algorithmically push identity-based content
Children encounter these ideas before they can critically evaluate them
What Changed? (This Is the Point)
Then:
Kids were protected
Adults debated culture
Sin was acknowledged as sin
Now:
Kids are targeted
Culture catechizes
Sin is renamed “identity”
This is not about nostalgia. It is about formation.
Jesus warned us that what goes into a person shapes the heart (Matthew 15:18). Paul warned that we should not be conformed to the pattern of the world (Romans 12:2).
Every era has struggled with sin. But our era is unique in this:
It disciples children before parents and churches can.
That means Christian students must learn discernment, not isolation—truth, not fear—and courage, not confusion.
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