Today, the role of mass media, especially television, in shaping children's worlds and determining their agendas is an undeniable fact. In this context, the contents of cartoons, which are one of the most important sources of entertainment and education for children, can leave profound effects on their social and emotional development. The master's thesis titled "Basic Social Values in Cartoons: The Case of Pepee and Pocoyo," written by Fatih Kılınç in 2013, reveals this effect with concrete data.

The research examines the Turkish-made cartoon Pepee and the Spanish-made Pocoyo, broadcast on TRT Çocuk and Yumurcak TV, which were leading children's channels in Turkey. In this study, conducted using the content analysis method, a total of 50 episodes, 25 randomly selected from each cartoon, were analyzed. The analysis was carried out across 21 different value categories using a form, including responsibility, helpfulness, justice, self-confidence, leadership, friendship, honesty, patience, respect, self-control, empathy, religious values, social and moral rules, fatalism, superstitions, obeying elders, individualism, national values, and animal love. The validity and reliability of the study are also supported by the high correlation among the reviews conducted by three different experts.

The findings of the study show that these cartoons, belonging to two different production companies, present different values to children. Messages promoting responsibility, leadership, self-control, empathy, and social rules are equally present in both Pepee and Pocoyo. However, significant differences stand out in some values.

The cartoon Pocoyo highlights universal values such as helpfulness, friendship, honesty, and patience more than Pepee. For instance, while helpfulness messages are found at a rate of 61% in Pocoyo, they are 39% in Pepee. One of the most striking findings is that messages supporting a sense of justice, moral rules, and individualism were only detected in Pocoyo.

On the other hand, Pepee also emphasizes its unique values. Messages improving self-confidence are 58% in Pepee, compared to 42% in Pocoyo. Messages of respect are also more dominant in Pepee (67%) than in Pocoyo. Furthermore, it was determined that Pepee included messages developing national values (100%), whereas such messages were not found in Pocoyo. This finding stems from Pepee being a domestic production.

In conclusion, this research shows that the cartoons watched by preschool children contain rich and diverse messages in terms of values education. It is of great importance for parents and educators to consciously choose the content children watch and to support their development by evaluating these contents together with them.

We thank Fatih Kılınç for this valuable and comparative study. The full thesis can be accessed via www.tez.yok.gov.tr using the code 345036.