I think that sometimes kids use the show as a jumping off point for talking about things with their parents.
When I was a kid, I was at a bowling alley and I ran into a soda machine. I still have the scar on my right eyebrow obviously.
When I was a kid, I just devoured TV 24 hours a day. Now that it's actually available 24 hours a day, I'm usually busy doing other stuff. But I do watch TV when I can.