H8er+Club,+Anjelica+Orloff



=Why Hate? =

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This is a video I found on YouTube, which features a teenage boy who makes his own webisdoes. He voices his opinion on reasons as to why he dislikes the show iCarly which just further supports my research and answers some questions that I had.

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Another video that was posted by a teenager on YouTube explaining reasons why they hate Nickelodeon's iCarly.



//Click image to get re-directed to the iCarly Hater Facebook Page//

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television?

Rationale:  Nickelodeon's hit show iCarly seems to be reaching the top of the Nielsen Ratings almost every week thus far in 2011. How is the the case when there are so many kids out that who claim to despise iCarly more then any other show on television? This is why I took the initiative to look deeper into the show and find out just why kids claim to "hate" iCarly. Is it because their peers claim to hate it? Is it based on the content shown in the show? The characters? My key findings will describe this issue in more depth.

**April 2011 Nielsen Ratings - iCarly at #1 **

** Hypothesis: ** My original though as to why so many children dislike iCarly was because of peer pressure. In order to develop a clear hypothesis, I took a look at The Power of Peers by Doctor Laurence Steinberg. The article claimed that "The less secure we are about our own identity and our own decision making abilities, the more we are influenced by others' opinions (Steinberg, 3). I came up with the idea that it would take one kid to say "I hate iCarly" for the rest of his or her group of friends to follow. This idea is important because as the article reads, there is a specific period in development, then-roughly from age twelve through sixteen- when individuals are easily influenced by their peers and I believe that is iCarly's most influential audience age group.

**Research Questions**: I decided to focus on why kids hate iCarly and whether it has to do with the characters or content itself. This idea lead to me to compile a few research questions that I would then ask my subjects in order to find out more information. ** 1. Do you watch iCarly? **** 2. Do your friends watch iCarly? **** 3. Why do you dislike iCarly? Explain specific episodes **** 4. Why do you dislike the characters in iCarly? **** 5. What other shows on Nickelodeon do you dislike? ** I decided to start off with the general question of what their viewing habits of iCarly were in order to gain a greater perspective on if they are avid watchers or have never seen the show before. The follow up question relates to their peers because it is known that teenagers are at a very impressionable age where they are heavily influenced by their peers. It could be very possible that this epidemic of "haters" towards iCarly and any other show could have started because one, high influential teen spoke their mind and others decided to follow. The other questions look deeper into the show itself and also Nickelodeon as a network. I decided to ask if my subjects disliked any other show on Nickelodeon and with those answers determined why I believe it might correlate to iCarly and the content and characters that are shown.

I was lucky enough to have my subjects right at hand. I have a 13 year old sister and her best friend Kristen practically lives at my house. They have voiced multiple times how much they hate iCarly though never explained why. This actually is where I created this idea for my research project. When it comes to my little sister, if it's not homework, she'll do it. I tried to make this interview as fun as possible. We sat and viewed two episodes of iCarly (iGive Away a Car and iRocked the Vote) and I would chime in when they were making fun of the content on the show so they didnt feel like they were doing something wrong. While at first I would jot down key phrases they would say, I felt as if they were holding back on what they really wanted to say so I decided to take a different approach then the typical interviewer vs. interviewee. I had them write down all the reasons they hated the show and explain why in their own words. Before, I felt they were trying to impress me with not saying how they truly felt. This way, they were able to get out everything they really despised about the show on paper and it helped in terms of not being repetitive.
 * Research Method: **

**Interview Findings: ** **Bella - Age 13**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"It all began when she stared as the iniquitous little sister on the hit TV show Drake and Josh. Everyone knew her as Megan the hilarious sister who always got away with the pranks she would pull on her two brothers. Then when Nickelodeon began showing previews for their new show iCarly, I was delighted to see that it was staring Miranda Cosgrove (Megan from Drake and Josh). Before I was halfway through the first episode of iCarly I had to shut it off. They tried to be funny, but their jokes where tedious. In one part they randomly began to dance, and then a huge title popped up on the screen that read “Random Dancing”. I don’t know how something could be that funny, NOT! **Having corny jokes is just one of the reasons why I despise iCarly.** Here are many more things about the show and her personally that I do not think are adequate for the young children that watch this show and look up to her. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">I am in 7th grade, and I know that in my middle school we talk a lot about bullying. It can hurt people tremendously both emotionally and physically. On iCarly Sam, who is Carly’s best friend is always threatening people. **She is always saying really mean things to people** in the hallways at their school. Also since I was in preschool, I was taught to always be careful with fire. In the episode I just recently watched her older brother Spencer made her a lamp for her birthday, when Carly walked up to her room she found that it was on fire. When she screamed “fire!”, her older brother and guardian Spencer, and her two friend’s Sam and Freddy decided it would be safe to run up to the room into the hazardous fire. This sends a bad message to kids because running into a fire is not safe. **Another reason I can’t stand iCarly is because it is completely improbable**. Whenever they are in school, ridiculous events are occurring in the hallways. Some episodes show people bowling by their lockers, Sam was once grilling a steak, a lady drove her car through the side of the school, and someone even jumped out of a classroom window. **I know that in my school this would be completely intolerable.** Another thing about this show that erks me is that all of their electronic devices are of the brand “Pear” for example “Pear Pad or Pear Phone” .This is a **cheesy way to copy the apple brand,** which includes the iPod, iPad, and apple computers. Spencer who is Carly’s older brother is clearly incapable of caring for a child, let alone himself. It seems that he is always putting Carly in danger with his crazy inventions. In one episode Carly almost got hit in the head with a hammer, when Spencer was showing her his latest invention. It was a fan made of hammers; it was fine until one unexpectedly flew off in the direction of Carly. If she had not ducked it would have nailed her right in the head. This occurrence of Carly being in danger states that Spencer is not a reliable care taker for his adolescent sister. Also in my opinion the outfits worn by **Carly and Sam are unstylish** and do not match. I thought that actors on a TV show would have exquisite clothes considering they are being dressed by professionals. Then **outside of the show Miranda Cosgrove dresses inappropriately** which sends off a bad message to the young children that look up to her. I also don’t understand why she thinks can sing, just because you have your own show and you can act doesn’t mean you can sing. Also her one song is about boys and how she is in love with a boy. This again is wrong to do considering the age group that looks to her as their role models. That is why I do not find iCarly a good show, or a show that is sufficient for young viewers."

<span style="color: #6e00ff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">**Kristen - Age 13**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">"There are many reasons why I do not like the Nickelodeon show “iCarly”. The first reason that I don’t like “iCarly” is because Miranda Cosgrove, the star of the show, tells **really corny jokes**, as do the other cast members. Overall, the show’s sense of humor is just…horrible. **I also hate how the show isn’t realistic AT ALL**. For example, in almost every episode, Carly, Sam, and Freddy are at school and just randomly start screaming and running around the hallways, or in one episode Sam was barbequing a steak in her locker. Obviously in a real school this would never be allowed. Along with the theme of being unrealistic, **Carly’s older brother Spencer is extremely irresponsible**. **I doubt he would ever be allowed to take care of a child in real life; he can’t even take care of himself**. Another reason I dislike the show “iCarly” is because **Carly and Sam wear ridiculous outfits that never match**. How can they even go out in public like that? I would think they would have a better wardrobe, being dressed by professionals. And also, not to be mean, but Miranda Cosgrove’s cheekbones are extremely high and it bothers me to look at her face. Now you can see why, along with Jonas L.A., “Big Time Rush”, and “Victorious”,” **iCarly” is one of my least favorite shows."**

**<span style="color: #6e00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 140%;">Common Sense Media Findings: **<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">After visiting Common Sense Media online, I was able to come across multiple reviews <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">by children on why they **hate** //iCarly//. Some of the reasons for why these particular kids hate //iCarly// are because:

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> -Sam is a bad role model, she makes fighting look like its okay-There are no parents, which is unsafe <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> -"This is a stupid show I don't understand why everyone's so obsessed with it. It re-uses the same plot in every episode and its mean and offensive." <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> -Spencer doesn't have a job but Carly is so spoiled, doesnt make sense <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> -They use words to cover up bad words such as "fudge bag" <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> -"Stupidest show on Nick, what were they thinking?" <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">***about 10 reviews all said this** <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">-"They use "O**h my God**" way too much!"



**<span style="color: #6e00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;">Scholarly Relation: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">In Class, we were assigned to read Sarah Banet-Weiser's book //Kids Rule! Nickelodeon and Consumer Citizenship//. This book contains a various amount of detailed information about Nickelodeon as a network and the specific content that it broadcasts. Related to my specific topic of haters, I decided to focus on a chapter that was designated to Nickelodeon's branding strategy. Chapter 3 of Kids Rule!, talks a lot about Nick's methods behind branding their network and how they decided to create appeal to children. She describes how Nick decided to create this strategy of a "kids only" zone that would represent the revolt against parents but in a harmless way. Also the fact that Nickelodeon's main goal was to "empower children" meant making them center of focus especially in their programming. The correlation between this and iCarly is that on the show, parents are rarely represented. iCarly and it's lack of adult characters might be Nickelodeons way of saying that this network is strictly for kids yet one of the most apparent complaints from children I could find about the show was the lack of adult authority in each episode. While Nick's branding strategy has worked for many years, it is interesting to see how many kids are actually uncomfortable with the fact that on iCarly, they children characters basically raise themselves. I believe this brings the reality of a world without parents come to life, which might scare some children. iCarly is a show that focuses a lot on digital technologies and one idea I found in this reading spoke "As new media use ranging from the internet to digital technologies to file sharing becomes normalized within youth culture, children are viewed as experts" (Banet-Weiser, 70). Also, another popular complaint about iCarly would be how unrealistic it is made out to be. One might be able to compare iCarly to some of the older popular shows Nick used to produce such as As Told By Ginger which is talked about in Chapter 4 (Banet-Weiser, 130) of Kids Rule. Click here to navigate over to a precis written on Nickelodeon's As Told by Ginger.



**<span style="color: #6e00ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%;"> Conclusion: ** <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> In conclusion, I believe I have found a great deal of information when it comes to why kids dislike iCarly. Developing research to find where this hate for iCarly or any other type of media was often times difficult because results are mostly based on pinons. I believe in by making this wiki page, this is a start in further researching the topic of children and why they like and dislike certain programs.Through my findings I was able to pin point specific reasons why children of the adolescent age group dislike iCarly. They feel they can not relate to the show in may aspects such as, the show lacks adult authority. Some children find the show to be "corny" and do not enjoy the sense of humor that is portrayed in each episode. Also, characters set bad examples for the younger viewers, especially Sam and her ongoing battle with bullying other children. While I enjoyed researching this topic, I wish there was more evidence to support why kids hate shows. For now, It is up to us to conduct these type of research studies to get to the bottom on what makes kids like and dislike a show that is intended to attract their specific age group.

<span style="color: #6e00ff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">**Works Cited:**
 * Ashby, E. (2011, 03). //iCarly//. Retrieved 04 2011, from CommonSense.org: []
 * Banet-Weiser, S. (2007). //Kids Rule! Nickelodeon and Consumer Citizenship.// United States: Duke University Press.
 * Steinberg, Laurence. ( 1996). The Power of Peers, Beyond the Classroom. New York, NY.
 * = [|Cable Weekly Top 25 TV Nielsen Ratings – April 3-9, 2011.] =
 * *all photographs are hyperlinked to the source in which they were retrieved