Technology - A detriment to childhood

[Rusty]

It saddens me to discover that children these days are more interested in obtaining the latest technology, be an iPad, iPod, laptop, or portable DVD player. And it is no secret America is known as the worlds "fattest" country in terms of having the highest rate of overweight people. Australia is becoming a close second I believe. But what happened to childhood? What happened to children riding a bike, playing on their scooter, going to the local skate park?

Take Christmas for example. Ask any 8 year old if they want a bike or if they want an iPad. I guarantee a majority of them will choose the iPad every single time. This leads to becoming not only overweight, particularly in the long haul, but becoming lazy, antisocial, almost isolated from the rest of society. Most children don't know what it's like to have fun outdoors. They aren't active, part of the reason is because people, at least here in Australia, have smaller backyards than ever before. They can't ride their bikes without a helmet. They can't ride down the road in case a pedophile jumps out of the nearby tree. They can't walk to the local park because a little girl got raped in another local park the other day.

This leads me back to my original point, the media is killing society. Information about incidents such as this being easily accessible has caused parents to think that they're kids aren't safe anymore. It's not true. This stuff used to happen all the time - you just never heard about it as much. Because 20 years ago, we didn't have a mini computer in our pockets.

The worst part of all, is that things will only get worse. While I'm quite aware there are still some children out there that still enjoy kicking a ball and have a passion for being active and playing sport. It is the majority that concerns me.

So do you agree? Are children isolated from society? Is technology ruining children being... children?

 

[Slash-LN]

I agree.
Back when I was a kid my best friend and I would be outside playing football or basketball until it was "dark".

Dark to my mom meant when the streetlights came on.
Dark to my friend and I meant until we could no longer see the ball.

My mom didn't care though because I was outside. I wasn't spending my childhood in front of the t.v. for the majority of my day.

My nephew and I take my dog to the park to play when the weather is nice enough but I don't think that's enough for him. Part of it in his case though is he doesn't really have any friends close enough that he could walk to their house or that they could walk to the park to meet up with him.

A few nights ago his cousins were over here, two of which live out of state, and he was in the kitchen playing a game on my sister's phone. I had to take it from him and tell him to go spend time with his cousins. It shouldn't be like that at all.

It bugs the hell out of me when people say the world is a different place. Or it's not as safe as it used to be. Like you said in the OP the world hasn't changed. We're just more aware of what happens because of technology.

It shouldn't surprise me when I see kids down at the park playing but it does every time.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

The problem in lies with the parents not technology in my opinion. To give an example I can bring you back to the Christmas of '91 when every kid wanted a Super Nintendo, the year before it was a Genesis, 2-3 years before that it was a NES, a few years after it was a portable CD player or a boom box. In my experience its not the fact that kids gravitate to technology more then they used to but its that parents seem to tell their kids less and less to put it away and go outside.

20 years ago I lived in a condo complex, in recent years I also live in a condo complex and the amount of time a kid spent outside 20 years ago was much higher than it is today. The thing I do remember however is the kids were outside as much as they were was because (at the beginning at least) they were MADE to go outside and be active and after a while of pushing the kid outside to be active eventually then day came where the kid actually WANTED to go outside and play football, basketball, soccer or street hockey. Take my 1st year of soccer for instance, at first I didn't want to play at all (I had Super Mario World to beat after all) and fought with my dad the whole time, then I started playing it, cue one year later and soccer couldn't get here fast enough for me. Of course I'm stating just for myself but damn near every kid in that complex was in a similar boat.

Fast forward to today and my current situation with my girlfriend and kids which includes a 14 year old boy. Although my girlfriend has always made the kid go outside and be active its more difficult than it was 20 years ago and the #1 reason my girlfriend and I are given is "there's no one out there to hang with" which is true. My girlfriend wants our son outside and active but she often the only parent in the complex that actually makes sure the kid actually stays active so when he asks his 5-6 friends in the complex to hang out it almost never happens because they're too busy playing Call of Duty every minute they're awake. From time to time I do see a group of kids who are actively playing outside, but the number has significantly shrunk from what it was 20 years ago. It's even gotten to the point we don't buy Halloween candy because all the parents are too lazy to take their kids trick or treating and that's where the real problem is in my opinion.

I know its not with every parent but too many try to be their kids friend instead of actually being a parent. It's not so much the technology as it is people being irresponsible with it, too much of anything isn't good. It's very easy for a kid to be enamored with a PS4, of course they are going to want to play it as often as possible but like it was 20 years ago with a Super Nintendo its up to the parents to make sure technology for kids is used in moderation.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It saddens me to discover that children these days are more interested in obtaining the latest technology, be an iPad, iPod, laptop, or portable DVD player.

I'm not sure if that is true nor am I sure it is a bad thing. My kids love going outside and they love playing with other kids. They become zombielike in front of a computer or TV but that doesn't mean they are not learning.

And it is no secret America is known as the worlds "fattest" country in terms of having the highest rate of overweight people. Australia is becoming a close second I believe. But what happened to childhood? What happened to children riding a bike, playing on their scooter, going to the local skate park?

I'd say things are more geared towards kids being active and healthy than I remember as a kid. Kids are doing sports, even team sports at earlier and earlier ages. There are children's museums everywhere. They have coffee shops with dedicated play places. Libraries are far more geared to children's sections than ever before. My wife stays is a stay at home mom. She takes these kids to so much crap it is unreal. And yet, there are still countless hours of the day still to fill. Some is spent outside, some in. I remember being out and about as a kid but not nearly to the extent my children are out. They get the outdoor play plus the organized activities.

Take Christmas for example. Ask any 8 year old if they want a bike or if they want an iPad. I guarantee a majority of them will choose the iPad every single time.

Maybe because they already have a bike or they just know bikes are easier to come by. Not to mention an eight year old isn't looking for the freedom of a bike that a thirteen year old probably has.

This leads to becoming not only overweight, particularly in the long haul, but becoming lazy, antisocial, almost isolated from the rest of society. Most children don't know what it's like to have fun outdoors.

There were a lot of kids like that in the 80's, 90's, and 00's. Do you really think most is an accurate assessment?

They aren't active, part of the reason is because people, at least here in Australia, have smaller backyards than ever before. They can't ride their bikes without a helmet. They can't ride down the road in case a pedophile jumps out of the nearby tree. They can't walk to the local park because a little girl got raped in another local park the other day.

I'll have to take your word on the backyards but how does wearing a helmet stop a kid from riding a bike? It is not cool but it is not a deterrent. As far as the rest of the stuff you mention, are you sure you are not reading stuff on the internet and assuming it is an epidemic. Which brings me to your next point...

This leads me back to my original point, the media is killing society. Information about incidents such as this being easily accessible has caused parents to think that they're kids aren't safe anymore. It's not true. This stuff used to happen all the time - you just never heard about it as much. Because 20 years ago, we didn't have a mini computer in our pockets.

Just like I think you may be extrapolating what society has become with kids not playing and being sheltered because you hear this and that.

The worst part of all, is that things will only get worse. While I'm quite aware there are still some children out there that still enjoy kicking a ball and have a passion for being active and playing sport. It is the majority that concerns me.

Do you have any youth sports participation rates over the last 50 years? I think that may help your concern with the majority.

So do you agree? Are children isolated from society? Is technology ruining children being... children?

No, technology, namely the internet is giving kids and adults the opportunity to pursue and learn about the things that matter to them. It let's them find others with similar ideas and interests. It has free porn.

Yes some kids will be lazy, some will be antisocial, but that has been an issue for years. There are young people right now using the internet to find radical Jihadist Muslim organizations they can fly thousands of miles away to join. No one from my generation had that type of drive and know-how.

I will finish from a quote from one of our world's greatest philosophers.

Once you hit thirty you will be afflicted by an overwhelming convulsion believe that the world used to be better. This is untrue. Everything is getting better with time - our standard of living is better than that of basically every other human being who has ever existed - and this statement has been true for the vast majority of the past thousand years.

 

[JamJam]

Sure, technology has definitely given kids more reason to stay indoors but that isn't the deciding factor as to why said kids stay indoors. I think you're probably giving technology a little bit too much credit on why kids don't go outside anymore. You also have to remember that not every kid is wired to go outside and play. Sometimes, being indoors make them feel safe. I know that being anti-social at a very young age might not be the best in the long run but there is still hope that the anti-social-ness (is that a word?) will go away.

When I was younger, I definitely loved the outdoors. Playing sports and all that til it was dark was a normal and common thing. However, I did have access to some gadgets but I didn't let it control my life. I agree with deanerandterry that parents should definitely try and enforce their kids to try and go out more. But if the kid doesn't want to, they shouldn't be forced, it should come naturally.

In some ways, technology has improved some things for kids. Technology has allowed kids to learn things in new and more innovative ways. Because of this, they tend to remember what they've learned as opposed to those times from before.

Not gonna lie though, my childhood was pretty awesome. Staying out all those times, playing sports, making memories with my friends was awesome. But that can easily be done even when staying indoors. It's definitely a lot safer since your kids will be indoors. But overall, the world is changing each second that passes by. Technology has come a long way for sure but really, it's up to us. Change happens whether we want it or not. It's our choice to either change what we do for the better or for worse.

 

[Rusty]

I'm not sure if that is true nor am I sure it is a bad thing. My kids love going outside and they love playing with other kids. They become zombielike in front of a computer or TV but that doesn't mean they are not learning.

I was unaware your kids were a reflection of children as a whole community. Of course technology is appropriate, but in moderation.

I'd say things are more geared towards kids being active and healthy than I remember as a kid. Kids are doing sports, even team sports at earlier and earlier ages. There are children's museums everywhere. They have coffee shops with dedicated play places. Libraries are far more geared to children's sections than ever before. My wife stays is a stay at home mom. She takes these kids to so much crap it is unreal. And yet, there are still countless hours of the day still to fill. Some is spent outside, some in. I remember being out and about as a kid but not nearly to the extent my children are out. They get the outdoor play plus the organized activities.

These things are only set up BECAUSE there has been a decline in kids being allowed outdoors at home. Not to mention the amount of overweight people has caused protests to demand new parks, new playgrounds and new libraries. Once again your kids may be active, and that is great. Unfortunately there are many kids out there that don't do the same thing your kids do in terms of being active and exercising.

Maybe because they already have a bike or they just know bikes are easier to come by. Not to mention an eight year old isn't looking for the freedom of a bike that a thirteen year old probably has.

And iPad's aren't easy to come by? Aren't they sold at every K-Mart? Many kids don't own a bike, or use one.

There were a lot of kids like that in the 80's, 90's, and 00's. Do you really think most is an accurate assessment?

Yes I do. I happen to live around many local parks and every time I walk or drive past them, I rarely see anybody there. I had a Playstation when I was a kid, but it didn't stop me from socialising and kicking a soccer ball every night.

I'll have to take your word on the backyards but how does wearing a helmet stop a kid from riding a bike? It is not cool but it is not a deterrent. As far as the rest of the stuff you mention, are you sure you are not reading stuff on the internet and assuming it is an epidemic. Which brings me to your next point...

Parents are more paranoid of letting their kids ride bikes without helmets. My grandparents didn't own one, and they never had any structural damage to their heads. So yes, to an extent it does prevent kids from doing it.

Just like I think you may be extrapolating what society has become with kids not playing and being sheltered because you hear this and that.

I see it. I have my cousins under the age of 10, I work with people who have kids. I don't base my argument on what I read, I base it on what I've seen the past few years.

Do you have any youth sports participation rates over the last 50 years? I think that may help your concern with the majority.

This thread isn't really about those who participate in sports. It's about those who are younger than that, like when kids are starting school, playing socially with friends or family at home. There's no real in between, a kid either plays plenty of sport and stays active, or they barely venture outdoors. That is my point.

No, technology, namely the internet is giving kids and adults the opportunity to pursue and learn about the things that matter to them. It let's them find others with similar ideas and interests. It has free porn.

Yes some kids will be lazy, some will be antisocial, but that has been an issue for years. There are young people right now using the internet to find radical Jihadist Muslim organizations they can fly thousands of miles away to join. No one from my generation had that type of drive and know-how.

I'm not anti-technology. I think you've severely misunderstood that. What I am saying is that many children become addicted to it. For example, they constantly need to play the latest app, or they constantly need to have the latest iPod. This prevents them from being active, as they are pre-occupied with technology. Is that clear or do I have to spell it out too?

Yes it does have some positives, and I'm not ignorant enough to pretend that EVERY kid is antisocial. But you can not honestly deny that it is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. I've spoken to my parents and grandparents and even they have demonstrated and explained how things have changed in terms of being active. While it all can't be blamed on technology, it sure plays a big part and will only become worse as time goes on.

 

[Mustang Sally]

It's technology...plus the "blaming" society we live in today. A person of our parents' generation made a list of things common to his time that are considered absurd today:




My Mom used to defrost hamburger on
the counter AND I used to eat it raw
sometimes, too. Our school sandwiches
were wrapped in wax paper in a brown
paper bag, not in ice-pack coolers, but I
can't remember getting e.coli.

Almost all of us would have rather gone
swimming in the lake instead of a
pristine pool (talk about boring), no
beach closures then.

The term cell phone would have
conjured up a phone in a jail cell, and a
pager was the school PA system.

We all took gym, not PE .. and risked
permanent injury with a pair of high top
Ked's (only worn in gym) instead of
having cross-training athletic shoes with
air cushion soles and built in light
reflectors. I can't recall any injuries
but they must have happened because they
tell us how much safer we are now.

Flunking gym was not an option even for
stupid kids! I guess PE must be much
harder than gym.

Speaking of school, we all said prayers
and sang the national anthem, and
staying in detention after school caught
all sorts of negative attention.

We must have had horribly damaged
psyches. What an archaic health system
we had then. Remember school nurses?
Ours wore a hat and everything.

I thought that I was supposed to
accomplish something before I was
allowed to be proud of myself.

I just can't recall how bored we were
without computers, Play Station,
Nintendo, X-box or 270 digital TV
cable stations.

Oh yeah ... and where was the Benadryl
and sterilization kit when I got that bee
sting? I could have been killed!

We played 'king of the hill' on piles of
gravel left on vacant construction sites,
and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out
the 48-cent bottle of Mercurochrome
(kids liked it better because it didn't
sting like iodine did) and then we got
our butt spanked.

Now it's a trip to the emergency room,
followed by a 10-day dose of a $49 bottle
of antibiotics, and then Mom calls the
attorney to sue the contractor for
leaving a horribly vicious pile of gravel
where it was such a threat.

We didn't act up at the neighbor's house
either because if we did, we got our butt
spanked there and then we got butt
spanked again when we got home.

I recall Donny Reynolds from next door
coming over and doing tricks on the
front stoop, just before he fell
off. Little did his Mom know that she
could have owned our house. Instead, she
picked him up and swatted him for
being such a goof. It was a society run amuck!


Today, a lot of parents want their kids indoors, even if it means the children spend all their spare hours with the newest technology....at the expense of exercise, fun and spontaneity.

At least, they're safe....and woe to the parent whose kid suffers a mishap when the parent "should" have been spending 24 hours a day watching them. The kid may have less fun and less of a childhood experience but the parent will be satisfied to not be blamed for anything.....and given the tendencies of law enforcement, the court system, insurance companies and society as a whole to assign blame wherever possible, it's tough to.....well, blame them for this. Those entities look to nail you to the wall by hitting you with the zinger: "What, don't you care about children?" if even the most minor mishap occurs when kids are playing outside.....so maybe it's better to keep them safe inside, playing whatever video games they play today.

Something gained.....but also definitely something lost.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Every generation says this sort of things to varying degrees about the generation after it.


There are tenants of our childhoods which were character building and more innocent, at the same time, there is far more connectivity for parents to feel at ease keeping their children safe, and concentrated efforts to educate and develop kids from early on(sex, drugs, bullying...all my favorite shit, really...)

What many don't realize is how powerful nostalgia is, and how that, in opposition to this genertions sensationalism, is what truly chaps your ass. "Oh well it was better back then" is what is really pulling at your strings, along with people's totally irrational (and frankly odd) fear/refusal of change.

 

[Mudlup50]

A thought that I saw on Reddit a few days ago that fits in perfectly...every time a generation(or a parent to a higher degree) complains about the current generation, they're complaining about the parents generation parenting ability. If you look at a generation as 20 years, todays kids would have been raised by parents who were teenagers during the video game boom of the 80's. If the current generation plays too much video games who's to blame? The parents, see here's what I think...if you are a parent and your child is spending too much time inside you throw them outside. They break a rule you take their game system away. My step dad did it in the most genius way, he'd take the wire.

Back about 8 years ago I was 12 and we lived in a great house out in the middle of no where. The town had no one near by, nice yard but no kids near by. You had school and that was it. Then we moved to a new house, and it was a community. I spent everyday outside, because for one there were kids and two we could do more outside. We made hideouts and played on porches and we played Badminton, 4 Square, Baseball, basketball anything we wanted! Why do I bring that up? Because we finally could. I had an XBox 360 inside that only got played when I came in which would be at dark. I didn't play sports at school but it was there. My school had a team for any sport you wanted, I mean we had a golf team. I didn't even ask for a phone till I was 15.

I definitely agree with you about the fearful parents. I've had the argument far too many times where adults will say it's so dangerous nowadays and I'm like..no it's as dangerous as before. You're just less ignorant of it now. Because that's the truth, between media and growing up you notice it now. My mom didn't see the danger of going outside yet she literally was being abused at home! You'd think she'd realize this was a thing back then too right? No she thinks it's new. People just love to view the past as better than it was and the present as worse than it is.

I had read on Cracked I believe, that more kids work nowadays than before. So what you expect a kid to go to school for 8 hours, come home to work for 3-4 and then go outside when it's dark? The kids who want to go outside, can't. Between clubs, sports and jobs where's the time? Society is different, but it's not worse than before. If anything we live in a far more excepting world than before, where I can be friends with someone in Canada or Australia or Portugal. You can be friends with a boy, girl, jock, nerd, geek, foreigner, special ed kid or anything you want. Yea rape is out there, but it always has been. Yes drugs are out there, but they always have been. Yea social outcasts are out there but they always have been!

I lived with my step mom and she raised her grandchildren(she's no saint really but her daughter was/is a drug addict). And my step sorta nephew would work the phone better than she would. He could only read his name and he worked it better than she could. If a child acts up, hand them the phone and bam they're quiet

Bottom line is, you can't worry about every kid. Society is different but also similar to when you were a child. Send your kid outside if you worry that much, move to an area with kids. Force your child to not get a job so they can enjoy youth. Parents have the power, don't blame the kids for what they were born into.

 

[Dagger Dias]

It depends on how much technology is around them as they grow up. I was handed an NES controller in 1987 and I never looked back. Video games, music, television, and computers have played a big role for nearly my entire life. There's letting technology be an escape from reality and then there's letting it become your reality. While Nintendo and WWE have always been a big part of my life, I still found time to go outside to take the dogs for a walk or spend time with friends. A healthy balance between technology based hobbies and still coming back to reality afterwards is what is needed. The world and its technology will continue to evolve. Kids asking for the latest iPhone or iPad is no different than when I was a kid asking for the latest SNES or PSX games. Technology to me is only a detriment when it takes over as the single only reality in the person's life.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

I think what's being missed or not thought of here, is that kids are capable of making the choice for themselves.

Me and my mates often played on Smackdown 2 on the Playstation back in the day. Know what we did more often? Play outside. As good as it was, the video game couldn't emulate standing on the chair turnbuckles, or walking down the path from the garden shed, a.k.a the Titantron. So yeah even in the face of kick-ass tech, we still chose, most of the time, to play our wrestling outside and ignore all the "don't try this at home" ads on Raw.

Obviously this is not representative of all children. But as long as you encourage imagination and decision-making while highlighting the virtues of your preferred choice, I think you can point kids in the right direction (or they will do so themselves).