I don’t know about you, but I can tell a lot about a person depending on what early adolescent television network they watched. More specifically, the type of television shows that they watched. Starting off with channels like Cartoon Network and Disney XD, which present a little more advanced humor. Then, Nickelodeon and Teen Nick; all of my friends can attest that “Degrassi” was off limits. My holy grail, the cream of the crop, crème de la crème, was Disney Channel. You are lying to my face if you say that you have never reenacted the swift hand motion replicating the Mickey Mouse head logo just like the Disney kids would do during commercial breaks. In the early 2000s, Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, popularized stars like Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Miranda Cosgrove, who all broke the glass ceiling in the children’s entertainment industry. Pre-Y2K television featured programs like “Full House” and “Boy Meets World.” In the 90s, media tended to focus on the betterment of family support. While this is all well and good because these shows are classics, there was something cutting edge about the availability of choice via cable surfing. Kids not only had options now, they also had preferences. 

Writers such as Kenny Ortega from Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” and “Camp Rock” set a new precedent for what children’s media could be. Media like “High School Musical” and “Camp Rock” not only set a new tone for what kids in the early 2000s could digest; they also shaped them as they grew into young adults. There was something magical about these movies. Regardless of the Disney franchise being built on a pillar of magic itself, these works amplified a sense of possibility and a humor that made adolescence less awkward and more enjoyable. Speaking for Gen Z and its current culture being engulfed in the flames of social media and TikTok, there is something to be said as to why the need for fame is so coveted and so aggressively sought after; I think it is our culture as children that shaped our craving to go viral. Gen Z has a sort of obsession with fame and the steps it takes to obtain it. Everybody wants to be known, to have the fortune and affluence that comes along with people knowing your name. I think that we are in a way conditioned to yearn for this lifestyle based on the content we were being fed as children. 

Of course, we have the “High School Musical” and “Camp Rock” franchises, which were built off of talent and dance choreography, but there are a few other big shows and movies that very much pushed this idea of fame. For example, “iCarly,” the Nickelodeon based television show about two young girls who rise to stardom off of a popular web show. The creators of Nickelodeon utilized technology as an essential role in the show, knowing that in the following years, more and more people would inevitably find fame online. As a child, you begin to think: if they can do it, why can’t I? To me, the most prominent of all of these shows based on celebrity and notability is none other than “Hannah Montana.” The life of a girl who lives a normal life just like you and I, but she is hiding a secret: she is the world’s biggest pop star. It was the magic behind shows like “Hannah Montana” which showed the duality of normalcy vs. fame, and why the greatness of being a star is just as rewarding as the simplicity of a normal life. Due to this media from an early age, Gen Z craves this acknowledgment, or at least, I know that I did when I was a child. I know this may fall under the speculation of toxicity, but I disagree. Childhood is about wonder and nostalgia; it’s about being able to have dreams larger than you—literally and figuratively. 

As a generation, we have held on to the dream of becoming a star, but it does not necessarily mean that children’s networkers tainted our psyche and caused us to be egomaniacs. I believe that this means children’s shows have served their purpose, instilling a sense of hope that never really left. So, next time you see someone try to go viral on TikTok with a “get ready with me” or a dreamy photo collage of their weekend, let them have their moment. After all, they could be the next “iCarly.”