Remember when Zack and Cody roamed the halls of the Tipton Hotel? When Drake and Josh scoured the movie theater looking for girls to hit on? When Zoey and friends pulled high school shenanigans on the boys? Growing up, our generation experienced the Golden Age of Television.  The silent battle between Disney and Nickelodeon to constantly outdo each other provided us millennials with endless entertainment.

Animated shows were some of the original TV shows we enjoyed.  The Rugrats and Spongebob Squarepants satisfied all ages of kids, despite being cartoons. These brilliant series portrayed mature themes understood by teenagers and parents alike, while also sticking with silly storylines adored by younger children. Today, there are no very notable cartoons that are popular amongst youth.

The television programs we had growing up possessed creative story lines and unique characters that were eclectic but not exaggerated (save almost anyone from Hannah Montana).  For example, iCarly, written about a few teenagers’ popular webshow, grasped our attention with each episode. The spunky characters and vibrant set designs were captivating. Compare that to Dog With a Blog, a dreadful modern show whose main character is a talking dog. Both protagonists from each show bear an influential internet presence, but one is entertaining and one is… well, you get the point.

Now, could this closed mindset possibly be due to the fact that the people who grew up with Drake, Zoey and Hannah are too old for the shows on TV now? Of course, a series designed for preteens will often disappoint high schoolers by nature. But some may argue that there was a clear and steady decline in Disney and Nickelodeon’s entertainment value that started with Suite Life on Deck (the atrocious Zack and Cody spinoff).  As Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez and Jamie Lynn Spears grew up (maybe a little too quickly), new programs like Shake It Up and Big Time Rush had to fill in the airwaves the former stars once occupied.

The good thing is that we will always have the shows we loved as children to look back on. When you’re feeling nostalgic, just search your favorite shows on your TV. Those programs are still heavily accessible and sometimes replay on Disney and Nickelodeon almost every day.  When you get bored of watching old episodes you have seen dozens of times, just be thankful you didn’t grow up with the television shows on now.