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> But regardless, rural != isolated. Children still go to school. This guy lives 10 miles (aka 10 minutes) from a "town" 10 minutes for the grown-ups, who can

> But regardless, rural != isolated. Children still go to school. This guy lives 10 miles (aka 10 minutes) from a "town" 10 minutes for the grown-ups, who can drive whenever they feel like it. For the 14 year old who can't drive, and whose parents can't drop everything to play chauffeur? That's 40 minutes each way on a bicycle - along single-lane roads with drivers doing 60mph. Sounds like a recipe for your kid to spend all day behind a screen, to me. Source: Direct, firsthand experience. The social isolation and countless screen hours did turn me into a great programmer though, so I've got that going for me.

defrost 2y ago
10 miles isn't much if you're 14 and live in the country, there's horses, dirt-bikes, hitch-hiking (local traffic), riding a push bike (traffic is rarely an issue and there are usually not-road paths to bike on. Some 14 years olds drive a paddock-basher (unlicensed car) on not-public farm roads. Source: Did all of that at 14 well deep in the country ( a good 1,000 km away from anything close to a city )
- miah_ 2y ago
  100% this. I didn't have a farmers license, but I was definitely driving our little S10 up to the supermarket for groceries or gas at 14. Never had a issue. I wasn't a menace on the road until I was officially licensed ;)
  - jeffbee 2y ago
    In Oklahoma my adolescence was marked largely by the constant undercurrent of people killing themselves with cars. I think this is integral with the rural or semi-rural lifestyle because Wyoming, S. Dakota, and Montana are #1, 2 and 3 for fatal transport accidents among teens. The more a place relies on cars to overcome isolation, the more of their young people they lose to car crashes. Descriptions about how this system works fine come from literal survivor bias.
    - defrost 2y ago
      I can roll off a litany of young farm deaths and injuries over 40 years .. in total at a rate that rivals urban youth deaths from hit by traffic | escalating 'gang' fights | jumping roofs, etc. Teens take risks and there's a known "acturial hump" for increased risk of death in young adult years.
miah_ 2y ago
I grew up in rural farmland of Michigan. Guess what. I rode a bicycle or walked. To and from school (I lived _just_ inside city limits which meant the buses were off-limits to me). To my friends house. To my friends house a township away (15 miles). Chauffeur? LOL. Sure. Sometimes my parents drove me, and yes I did spend time behind a screen (I was on many local BBS's). But I also spent hours each day outside. Did this change in the winter? Nope. I still often rode my bicycle to school. On days where there was too much snow I'd have to leave earlier to deal with the hike. Sometimes a friend might notice me and pick me up. I was definitely the weirdo in school (not a out transgender kid in the 1990's no way), but I still had friends. I wasn't isolated in any way. Source: Direct, firsthand experience. Guess what. In life, your mileage may vary. Just because you experienced something one way doesn't mean everybody else experiences it the same way.
- michaelt 2y ago
  You walked 15 miles to a friend's house? And back again? No wonder you spent hours each day outside :)

defrost 2y ago

10 miles isn't much if you're 14 and live in the country, there's horses, dirt-bikes, hitch-hiking (local traffic), riding a push bike (traffic is rarely an issue and there are usually not-road paths to bike on. Some 14 years olds drive a paddock-basher (unlicensed car) on not-public farm roads. Source: Did all of that at 14 well deep in the country ( a good 1,000 km away from anything close to a city )

miah_ 2y ago
100% this. I didn't have a farmers license, but I was definitely driving our little S10 up to the supermarket for groceries or gas at 14. Never had a issue. I wasn't a menace on the road until I was officially licensed ;)
- jeffbee 2y ago
  In Oklahoma my adolescence was marked largely by the constant undercurrent of people killing themselves with cars. I think this is integral with the rural or semi-rural lifestyle because Wyoming, S. Dakota, and Montana are #1, 2 and 3 for fatal transport accidents among teens. The more a place relies on cars to overcome isolation, the more of their young people they lose to car crashes. Descriptions about how this system works fine come from literal survivor bias.
  - defrost 2y ago
    I can roll off a litany of young farm deaths and injuries over 40 years .. in total at a rate that rivals urban youth deaths from hit by traffic | escalating 'gang' fights | jumping roofs, etc. Teens take risks and there's a known "acturial hump" for increased risk of death in young adult years.

miah_ 2y ago

I grew up in rural farmland of Michigan. Guess what. I rode a bicycle or walked. To and from school (I lived _just_ inside city limits which meant the buses were off-limits to me). To my friends house. To my friends house a township away (15 miles). Chauffeur? LOL. Sure. Sometimes my parents drove me, and yes I did spend time behind a screen (I was on many local BBS's). But I also spent hours each day outside. Did this change in the winter? Nope. I still often rode my bicycle to school. On days where there was too much snow I'd have to leave earlier to deal with the hike. Sometimes a friend might notice me and pick me up. I was definitely the weirdo in school (not a out transgender kid in the 1990's no way), but I still had friends. I wasn't isolated in any way. Source: Direct, firsthand experience. Guess what. In life, your mileage may vary. Just because you experienced something one way doesn't mean everybody else experiences it the same way.

michaelt 2y ago
You walked 15 miles to a friend's house? And back again? No wonder you spent hours each day outside :)