Millennials, Are We the Last Generation to Grow Up Playing Outside?

As a child growing up in the late ‘90s to early 2000s, I was barely exposed to the world of technology.

My shoes were still kicking dirt and my legs were used to running around the neighbourhood with the local kids. Once I was joined in my family by two younger siblings, I began to notice an obvious difference in our childhood experiences. They grew up with computers, smartphones and various video game consoles all while still under the age of 13.

This scenario may not be the same for every single young person living in a tech-savvy society, but does it mean millennials are truly the last generation to be fully immersed in a childhood playing outside?

More and more teens and pre-teens are choosing technology rather than going out into the real world. However, despite stereotypes and the preconceived ideas of ‘the right way to play’, technology actually has a lot of added benefits for them.

The 'junk food' rule.

It’s quite difficult to control kids who use technology in this day and age, since it has been such a big part of our surroundings and functioning in our daily lives. Social media and video games are two focal points for teens and pre-teens due to peer influence.

Most social networking sites require the user to be at least 13 years old before signing up. Yet, ‘the Social Age’ survey, created by website Knowthenet, has shown that more than half of children have used an online social network by the age of 10, with Facebook atop the list of sites for under-age registrations.

There is also a reputation that prolonged video game playing creates a harmful effect on young people; violent video games especially. According to a scientific study from 2001 (admittedly a different era), children who play violent video games more often are likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings and behaviours, and decreased prosocial helping.

There is a constant debate on whether regular usage of technology among teens and pre-teens is good and healthy, or if it makes them reliant and addictive to their devices until they feel that there is nothing else to do when they are taken away from them.

Some parents or older generations tend to rule technology to be in the same boat as junk food: it’s fine in moderation but can ultimately become more bad than good.

But as all of these studies and debates occur, the truth of the matter is that there really is no ‘right’ age to allow people to dip their toe in the digital pond. Or at least, no hard and fast rule. We, as a society, are changing and evolving at a high-speed.

What are the benefits?

Teens and pre-teens today may not always need to be outside to play. With technology, not only will they experience the entertaining and social aspects that are included, they are also able to educate themselves about absolutely anything at any time. The best part is that all of the information is available at their fingertips.

The digital age is moving far too fast for anyone to not be engaged in, and the positives completely outweigh the negatives at this point. Technology plays a crucial part in education support and can actually assist in child development.

Almost every child born today or since the Millennial generation is and will be tech-savvy. They will get accustomed to and be quite skilled with computers and other devices. We should embrace and encourage the newer generations, as they are our hopeful and free-thinking future leaders.

Ratria Nindita is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. See more student contributions here.

Photo: Comedy Central