If you’ve watched Nickelodeon at all in the past year or so, chances are you’ve heard of or seen the show iCarly. After seeing a majority of the episodes and the newest movie (iGo to Japan) I’ve come to a split conclusion on my feelings for the popular show.
iLove
We’ll start with the obvious: The show is funny. For something aimed at pre-teens, I find myself laughing along despite my age. There’s a wit to the show that hasn’t been seen for a while on television. iCarly is more open with their jokes and less guarded – they’re not afraid to go back to classic Nickelodeon humor. There’s actual slapstick (Sam. Enough said) and quite a few mature jokes aimed at the older audiences ala Spencer (His dating life).
While I’m not a huge fan of Carly herself, the antics of her two friends Sam and Freddie are almost always amusing. Not to mention all of the teachers and family members. The show’s cast is top notch talent and when you add in Tuvok is Principal Franklin, you can’t ask for much more.
And let’s not forget that the theme song “Leave it All To Me” is quite catchy.
iHate
Carly, Sam and Freddie are 14.
Now, correct me if I’m wrong – but when I was 14, I was told not to give out my name, personal information or picture on the internet – let alone videos.
While her webshow is entertaining, it doesn’t change the fact that’s it’s considerably unsafe. Two 14 year old girls sharing a ton of personal information from where they live to what school they go to on a weekly basis is just something that I can’t let slide without saying something. I’m well aware that the internet has grown and expanded quite a bit in the 10 years since I was 14 with the invention of youtube and social networking sites, but that doesnt’ mean it’s any less dangerous.
In at least two epiodes I can think of, Carly has appeared on her webshow in a bikini (the second time as part of a hula costume in which she was at least wearing a skirt). A 14 year old girl in a bikini. Please tell me I’m not the only one who doesn’t at least slightly bothered by that? If that’s not bad enough, in one episode when Sam was petitioning for money to pay back her friends – she listed the name and Address of her school. It was one thing when they asked viewers to send submissions to their website, but to list a phsyical address?
Maybe I wouldn’t be so bothered if they had taken more saftey precautions. Such as a PO Box for mail or taken better care to hide where they live, but it doesn’t change the fact that three 14 year olds are running a world wide broadcast for all intents and purposes unsupervised. Even Freddie’s overprotective mother doesn’t seem to find issue with him being on the program. If i had uploaded just my picture when I was 14 my parents would have thrown a fit.
To ice the cake though, iCarly (the television show & their webshow) encourages other pre-teens to do the same: Video tape themselves and put it up on the web. You may call me overprotective, but this just seems like it’s doing nothing but encouraging unsafe behavior.
Conclusion
iCarly is an entertaining, original show that I enjoy watching. However, I still can’t shake the teachings that it is unsafe to share personal information over the internet – which as you can imagine makes watching rather unsettling at times whenever Carly does something to put herself at risk.
My only advice is that viewers watch the show with a grain of salt and realize that like most TV shows, the world of iCarly is fiction and can separate the show from reality. As long as viewers realize that Carly is free from the consequences of her actions because it is a TV show on a set, than I think the show is much more enjoyable.
