3 ms·

As a 50-something man who grew up in a pretty boring suburb, I rarely found myself lacking for things to do. I spent most of my time hanging out with friends,

As a 50-something man who grew up in a pretty boring suburb, I rarely found myself lacking for things to do. I spent most of my time hanging out with friends, even if it was at the local arcade, strip mall or a friend's house. We'd ride our bicycles all over the city, explore the local creeks and hillsides, or play video games together (Atari, Intellivision, etc.). Eventually a few of us got home computers (Apple II or Commodore) and spent a huge amount of time playing games or programming, but there was always a desire to get together and do things outside. (The suburban experiences of the kids on E.T. reminds me a lot of my own childhood, minus the alien.) Most of us had chores and/or jobs. I had a paper route from age 12 to age 14. When I was at home, my parents were always kicking me out of the house to go do things outside or with friends. Most kids in my neighborhood were what you would classify today as "free range". That seemed to be the norm in those days. Today I look at kids with their heads buried in smart phones and feel a real sense of pity.

stevenicr 4y ago
I had similar experiences around a similar time frame. I had no idea how lucky I was. As an adult I moved to another city - what I found after moving is that there are no sidewalks, lots of hills, and virtually no where is safe to bike. (sadly this is still pretty much the case 20 years later around here, although they have added some 'bike lanes' and laws.. you couldn't pay me to bike around here. Arcades have closed, no skateboarding and similar trespass rules are common now to deter hanging out at strip malls and such. I keep recalling the news story some years back where a mom was arrested for allowing her kids to go to the park without a parent (maybe it was chicago or similar?) Friend's houses have become a worry about all the stories you see in the news / social feeds about drugging / raping / guns / unfiltered porn / hidden cams etc.. I too have pity for today's youth with heads in phones - however seeing what some of the other hoodlums are doing with idle hands these days, on top of the rampant dangers outside the homes, I'm glad there are all these screen options today.
actionablefiber 4y ago
A few major things have changed in the intervening time that have worsened the problem. First, the suburbs have expanded, greatly. This means they're farther out in the periphery on average, there are far more highways, roads, and parking structures needed to support them (with far more lanes and traffic), and it's consequently more difficult and dangerous to go places on your own, especially without a car, in any place that is in or connected to suburban developments. For reference, when I was going to elementary school in the late 2000s, my school was half a mile away on the other side of a five lane highway that had no sidewalk on the other side. It wasn't until later that a pedestrian/bike accessible trail was put in to allow access to getting downtown and even then it would still take 30-40 minutes walking or 10-15 minutes cycling and it sucked the whole time. And this was a less exurban development than many of the ones that have sprung up in the last decade. Secondly, perhaps in part as a reasonable reaction to the first and in part as an unreasonable reaction to fearmongering, parents are unwilling to let their kids venture out on their own without supervision, and even police each other, by calling the actual police on parents who let their kids travel alone. Thirdly, tech has just gotten better, in ways that make it higher quality and in ways that make it addictive. Browsing the internet and playing vidya is a better value proposition these days in many suburbs than going outside to navigate asphalt and private lawns as far as the eye can see.
sha256sum 4y ago
Those days don’t exist anymore. You shouldn’t feel pity for those kids, you should feel shame in being part of the generation that robbed all of those good experiences away. It’s no joke that a lot of these kids are depressed and have no skills or resources to find entertainment. Before smart phones many of their parents watched TV for 4+ hours a day. What did you expect the kids to do?

stevenicr 4y ago

I had similar experiences around a similar time frame. I had no idea how lucky I was. As an adult I moved to another city - what I found after moving is that there are no sidewalks, lots of hills, and virtually no where is safe to bike. (sadly this is still pretty much the case 20 years later around here, although they have added some 'bike lanes' and laws.. you couldn't pay me to bike around here. Arcades have closed, no skateboarding and similar trespass rules are common now to deter hanging out at strip malls and such. I keep recalling the news story some years back where a mom was arrested for allowing her kids to go to the park without a parent (maybe it was chicago or similar?) Friend's houses have become a worry about all the stories you see in the news / social feeds about drugging / raping / guns / unfiltered porn / hidden cams etc.. I too have pity for today's youth with heads in phones - however seeing what some of the other hoodlums are doing with idle hands these days, on top of the rampant dangers outside the homes, I'm glad there are all these screen options today.

actionablefiber 4y ago

A few major things have changed in the intervening time that have worsened the problem. First, the suburbs have expanded, greatly. This means they're farther out in the periphery on average, there are far more highways, roads, and parking structures needed to support them (with far more lanes and traffic), and it's consequently more difficult and dangerous to go places on your own, especially without a car, in any place that is in or connected to suburban developments. For reference, when I was going to elementary school in the late 2000s, my school was half a mile away on the other side of a five lane highway that had no sidewalk on the other side. It wasn't until later that a pedestrian/bike accessible trail was put in to allow access to getting downtown and even then it would still take 30-40 minutes walking or 10-15 minutes cycling and it sucked the whole time. And this was a less exurban development than many of the ones that have sprung up in the last decade. Secondly, perhaps in part as a reasonable reaction to the first and in part as an unreasonable reaction to fearmongering, parents are unwilling to let their kids venture out on their own without supervision, and even police each other, by calling the actual police on parents who let their kids travel alone. Thirdly, tech has just gotten better, in ways that make it higher quality and in ways that make it addictive. Browsing the internet and playing vidya is a better value proposition these days in many suburbs than going outside to navigate asphalt and private lawns as far as the eye can see.

sha256sum 4y ago

Those days don’t exist anymore. You shouldn’t feel pity for those kids, you should feel shame in being part of the generation that robbed all of those good experiences away. It’s no joke that a lot of these kids are depressed and have no skills or resources to find entertainment. Before smart phones many of their parents watched TV for 4+ hours a day. What did you expect the kids to do?