Jeff_AKA_Snoopy posted... Alright, if we wanna get real about the whole isolation of kids argument, it honestly comes down to economics.
Parents today have less money than they did in previous generations. This is the first generation since recording that kids are worth less than their parents. This downturn in economics means a couple things:
1. Less finances to actually get kids involved in things. Not all "outside stuff" costs a lot of money, but look at a lot of sports... inherent costs and costs to keep those all running efficently.
2. Both parents working at the same time. Even if you wanted to try and argue that there is free shit kids can do, kinda hard if both parents are working and as such it is illegal to leave your kids home alone. You gotta put them in daycare, where they are certainly socializing with other kids, but probably indoors with a lot of safe things to do inside to avoid risks.
3. If both parents are working more often and there are multiple children at home, even as a kid gets a bit older they are far more likely to be tasked with keeping younger siblings safe and cared for. What is a 13 year old gonna do for their 8 year old sibling? Probably not go out to the park alone together and play; they're gonna hop on Minecraft or something.
I guarantee you if more families had the same financial opportunities that they did in the 50's up to the 90's, there would be a lot less of the "isolation" type behavior some are suggesting. It's a financial situation first and foremost.
I was born in 1978, so Im technically Gen X.
Both of my parents worked in NYC. Left at 6:30am, didnt come home until after 6pm
i was still out of the house everyday from the moment school let out till 6pm, when I knew they were coming home soon. Rode my bike to baseball practice, the park, into town to play XMen Arcade at the pizza place.
I cant get my 13 year old son to go further than 4 houses down my block, where his best friend lives. He tells me why go out when all my friends can hook up on the PlayStation and do whatever we would do if we were all together?
Yes, this is only one example, but if you have kids, or know someone with younger (8-14 years old) ask yourself, how many of them arent driven to practice, sports games, or whatever play date you have set up for them?