5 ms·

I think we as society have lost the ability to give the kids a creative space, that used to be a mile away from homes where they can play in the sand and bushes

I think we as society have lost the ability to give the kids a creative space, that used to be a mile away from homes where they can play in the sand and bushes and water, and just be kids, without adult supervision. Video games let kids experience creation. Video games are satisfying an evolutionary need. I think nautil.us should write an article on positive effects of mobile phone connectivity. The snobs are looking down on that just like they are on video games.

actionscripted 9y ago
This could help explain the massive popularity of sandbox titles like Minecraft.
ourmandave 9y ago
...they can play in the sand and bushes and water, and just be kids, without adult supervision. Recreate Lord of the Flies with GTAV? =)
pm90 9y ago
Urban centers through most of human history have lacked a lot of open spaces, and kids have grown up fine. Human brains are incredibly resilient, and you can raise healthy kids even in dense urban areas. The problem seems to be more about the constant stimuli that comes from internet enabled devices and video games. I grew up without access to much video games or the internet but that made me dream up entire fantasy worlds as a kid, because I was bored. I don't think the current environment allows kids that kind of space to just be bored and create things via imagination. I'm not a child specialist though so I might be totally wrong about this.
- naravara 9y ago
  >Urban centers through most of human history have lacked a lot of open spaces For most of human history transportation through urban centers was done primarily on foot and roads were designed to facilitate that. Contemporary urban planning is designed around speedily moving motorized vehicles through and the streets, such as they are, are rivers of traffic that pedestrians have to hurry themselves across during the short windows of time that cars aren't speeding by. The invention of the automobile has been terrible for letting kids roam around. On the flip-side of the dangers they face in urban centers, the ones growing up in newer suburban areas lack the density to have an appreciable amount of kids of similar ages within walking/biking distance of each other. Many older style, "streetcar" suburbs do, but we haven't build many of those in the past 30 or so years.
  - njarboe 9y ago
    "streetcar" density suburbs can and do function well with only cars. We just need to start building them again. Just sprinkle in a few multi-story parking lots behind street-level retail and they are great places to live.
- ecshafer 9y ago
  If you read "death and life of great American cities", Jane Jacobs touches on this quite a bit. Urban centers do offer a lot to children growing up. It offers freedom and unstructured play time, which is important. kids are able to explore easily in an urban environment, if it is walkable, and safe. Safety comes from mixed use urban planning that adds many eyes and feet on the street that keep areas safe and welcoming. This also benefits children since even if they come across a Bully, there are multiple escape paths, and a plethora of adults to around to step in. Large open spaces lead to fewer adults around during unstructured play. Children need both unstructured and structured time.
katastic 9y ago
In otherwords: Minecraft.

actionscripted 9y ago

This could help explain the massive popularity of sandbox titles like Minecraft.

ourmandave 9y ago

...they can play in the sand and bushes and water, and just be kids, without adult supervision. Recreate Lord of the Flies with GTAV? =)

pm90 9y ago

Urban centers through most of human history have lacked a lot of open spaces, and kids have grown up fine. Human brains are incredibly resilient, and you can raise healthy kids even in dense urban areas. The problem seems to be more about the constant stimuli that comes from internet enabled devices and video games. I grew up without access to much video games or the internet but that made me dream up entire fantasy worlds as a kid, because I was bored. I don't think the current environment allows kids that kind of space to just be bored and create things via imagination. I'm not a child specialist though so I might be totally wrong about this.

naravara 9y ago
>Urban centers through most of human history have lacked a lot of open spaces For most of human history transportation through urban centers was done primarily on foot and roads were designed to facilitate that. Contemporary urban planning is designed around speedily moving motorized vehicles through and the streets, such as they are, are rivers of traffic that pedestrians have to hurry themselves across during the short windows of time that cars aren't speeding by. The invention of the automobile has been terrible for letting kids roam around. On the flip-side of the dangers they face in urban centers, the ones growing up in newer suburban areas lack the density to have an appreciable amount of kids of similar ages within walking/biking distance of each other. Many older style, "streetcar" suburbs do, but we haven't build many of those in the past 30 or so years.
- njarboe 9y ago
  "streetcar" density suburbs can and do function well with only cars. We just need to start building them again. Just sprinkle in a few multi-story parking lots behind street-level retail and they are great places to live.
ecshafer 9y ago
If you read "death and life of great American cities", Jane Jacobs touches on this quite a bit. Urban centers do offer a lot to children growing up. It offers freedom and unstructured play time, which is important. kids are able to explore easily in an urban environment, if it is walkable, and safe. Safety comes from mixed use urban planning that adds many eyes and feet on the street that keep areas safe and welcoming. This also benefits children since even if they come across a Bully, there are multiple escape paths, and a plethora of adults to around to step in. Large open spaces lead to fewer adults around during unstructured play. Children need both unstructured and structured time.

katastic 9y ago

In otherwords: Minecraft.