this recent report from nbc news further confirms what i already observed for years, that todays kids have compulsive addictions to electronic interface media: cell phones, internet, movies, mp3 players, video games, etc.

the study indicates some kids have as much as 12 hours a day interaction with such devices.

heres the story:

Electronic media usage among kids soars to all-time high | NBC Augusta 26 | news, weather, sports, community, entertainment, shopping for Augusta, Georgia | Local News (http://www.nbcaugusta.com/news/local/82200732.html)

i grew up during a time when libraries were the prime source for referencing research material before the internet popularized youths frequenting the library solely for the purpose of social networking & not educational purposes, when video games were simplistic and didnt inquire lengthy intuitive play for hours, when mp3s didnt exist and music was played from a cassette tape or radio station, when cell phones didnt exist and kids were tied to talking on home wired lines.

comparing oranges to apples as far as today's kids versus kids from my era..we still shared similiar avenues as far as music, movies, games, and phone calls go. however, before the advent of internet, most kids my age viewed the internet as a boring business or educational tool with little value for entertainment, and nothing for social bonding.

yes, i grew up in a time when you could drive down any neighborhood block and see many kids either riding a bicycle, playing football or baseball, playing frisbee with a dog, girls jumping rope...and for the record..im only 34 yrs old, so im not that old. older folks however, can relate more to the point im conveying.

kids of yesteryear were healthier, and more active and usually had about 10 to 15 friends to play outdoors with. ...in constrast to this..todays kids have myspace and facebook pages set up with 150 to 200 friends that they have..and almost never play outdoors with.

interesting how the world has changed in such a short time.

what you sound like:

"We can't bust heads like we used to. But we have our ways. One trick is to tell stories that don't go anywhere. Like the time I caught the ferry to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for m'shoe. So I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So I tied an onion to my belt. Which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. Gimme five bees for a quarter, you'd say. Now where was I... oh yeah. The important thing was that I had an onion tied to my belt, which was the style at the time. You couldn't get white onions, because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones... "

I read an article last night about the problems Norman Schools are having with cell phones, MP3 Players, etc;, they are planning study sessions on how to handle the situation. I sent them a very easy solution, tell parents/students they are banned and not allowed on campus, period. Problem solved.

RCJunkie trust me its not that easy. When I was in high school (graduated in 2004), cell phones were just then becoming common among students. Our school declared that cell phones were banned. Almost immediately they ran into problems. Parents were furious that their kids expensive cell phones were confiscated ("What if my child has an emergency?","You don't pay the bill!"). Kids would just sneak them in anyway and use them in between classes and just learned to be secretive about. The kicker was when a students father nearly died and her mother had no way of contacting her daughter, and the family let the school have it. The ban lasted about a month and the school finally relented.

Quite frankly society in general is waaaay to adicted to electronics and gadgets. When people start dying becuase Susie Q is too busy text messaging to notice oncoming traffic we have problems. I'll never forget when I went to a cabin in rural Pushamataha County a/k/a middle of nowhere with no signal to speak of for a weekend. I actually felt my body go through widthdrawls from no cell phones, yikes!

Its easy to say they are banned, but parents are texting students in the middle of class to remind them of some minor thing to do after school or just to say hi then there is a bigger problem and that is why so many schools are having these study sessions to figure ways to control phone usage in schools. I don't see that much of a problem with mp3's yet.

This is the same old story every generation tells about all those newer ones....back in my day, everything was perfect, but kids today are nothing but trouble...

In my day, kids were allowed by school policy to smoke in the designated "smoke hole." Often, teachers who didn't have time between classes to make it to the lounge, would join students and even bum smokes. This activity--fraternization--was discouraged. Smoking was permitted despite it being against the law for kids to smoke.

Today, the damn schools don't let kids smoke.

What is wrong with the world?

There is an obesity problem. No doubt about that. However, video games and computers are merely a symptom not a cause.

The changing demographics of the US is way more responsible. When families have fewer kids and farther apart, more resources are available for the individual child. Combine that with the low cost and convenience of high calorie foods and the that we perceive nature to be far more dangerous than folks did in past generations, and you get lots of things that combine.

Ultimately, it is parental action which is the root cause, not the technology.

This is definitely Good Ole Day Syndrome. I am 33. I am in the same age bracket..

My friends with kids ALL have them in sports leagues (no, not WII leagues), karate, they have avid BMX and skateboarding kids... Hunting, ATVs, wakeboarding, etc.

And, for the record, I had an Atari 2600, much like *all* my other friends. Then it was Nintendo. Then N64. Then Sega Genesis. Then PS, PS2 and now PS3. We were all on the internet ~1994 and spent a ton of time on Compuserve and AOL. In comparison, not much has really changed, except now you can take the technology with you so you aren't locked indoors, but even then gameboy was around.

Kids are NOT shut ins.

I think it is a combination of the effect the electronics have on the pleasure sensors in the brain (the constant use is building pathways we didn't have) coupled with parents whose idea of proper parenting is to think for their kids and make sure the world keeps them wrapped up in cotton. Bad combination.

I think it is a combination of the effect the electronics have on the pleasure sensors in the brain (the constant use is building pathways we didn't have) coupled with parents whose idea of proper parenting is to think for their kids and make sure the world keeps them wrapped up in cotton. Bad combination.

I mostly agree with this. However, there are many activities which activate neural activity. I don't believe electronics have magical properties. They have a demonstrable physiologic effect but many sedentary activities which do not involve technology have similar effects.

For example, reading can be every bit as exciting and activity suppressing as any electronic devise.

There was a time when excessive reading was considered delitarious to children. Who worries about that now? Nobody. This is because we have new destractions to obsess about.

Again, it remains the parent's job to guide thier children to appropriate activities and to attempt a well rounded life for thier kids.

Electronics have been babysitting kids for about 3 generations now. I'm not sure any of these have proven to be much better or worse than the others.

Except for the perception of the "good old days" which is always a false comparison full of unrealistic perceptions.