A friend attended the Democratic National Convention in Denver this week. Among the many items he snagged was a pamphlet from the No Child Left Inside Coalition, a group which seeks to foster environmental awareness and activity among young people.
That's all quite commendable. Less praiseworthy, however, is the fact that the group's brochure (obtained by GP) takes a cheap shot at video games in its opening paragraph:
Young people across America are spending more and more time inside - hooked up to video games, computers, and television, instead of learning, playing and exploring outside. The results are profound: increases in childhood obesity, a lack of understanding of the environment and a disconnection from the natural world.
Why some kids don't go outside or don't get enough exercise or are overweight would seem to be very complex social issues involving a myriad of factors, including available recreational opportunities, socioeconomic status, neighborhood safety, parenting, nonstop marketing of high-calorie food and drinks, etc.
Thumbs-down to No Child Left Inside for pointing the finger at video games...
Comments
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
Cybernatography? What's that?
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
Cybernatography? What's that?
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
Simple solution.
Either try to get parent's involved in getting their kids to disconnect from their consoles or just shut up and let the fatties die of heart attacks.
Its called weeding out the weak......
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
People like Obama though, they want to just let the whiners of America stay by giving the lazy lots of money, etc.
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
In a way, it's true, they just aren't looking far enough back.
The question isn't "what are they doing instead of getting into the outside world?" it should be "why are they finding other things to do in preference to the outside world?"
It's a vicious circle, and, in many ways, computer games are the victim here more than, for example TV, since TV tries to convince you that the real world is filled with terrorists and phsycopaths, fear is a powerful motivator, whereas a game is not trying to tell you the 'truth' in any way, it is merely trying to be entertaining, Id Games saying that Hitler rode around in a robotic spider is not the same as, for example, Fox News claiming the same thing.
Re: At DNC, No Child Left Inside Group Blames Video Games
You are right: video games are probably the victim of a backlash. Couple the idea that kids are universally unsafe outside and the perception that "there's nothing to do" in the world beyond the reach of an extension cord (bogus points of view IMO) and why would anyone subject themselves to to the outside world?
Gaming isn't the only reason kids don't go outside, the group is missing something if they really think that there is no learning that can come from gaming. But I don't like basing my comments on soundbites like the 48 words quoted above (no offense GP), so Google can helped find this info about what No Child Left Inside is:
The "group" that wrote the brochure is a coalition of 725 organizations that represent over 42 million people (some of them must play video games, no?) who are looking to get the No Chlid Left Inside legislation passed.
No Child Left Inside is a bill that will "Help schools and states enhance and expand environmental education ... provide money for teacher training and support programs... encourage the development of outdoor environmental education activities as a regular part of the curriculum... Place qualified, expert teachers in the nation’s classrooms... Give more people a stake in creating the next generation of environmentally conscious students by connecting teachers and professionals from environmental fields. " (from the US house of representatives website)
The bill just passed the house of representatives with a bipartisan 293-109, and doesn't say anything about banning video games. Think W would sign it?