One of the crazes that came after my childhood that never caught my attention was the video game in its various incarnations.
Pong showed up when I was fifteen, followed closely by Space Invaders when I was eighteen. If I was going to get hooked, those were the primo ages to do it.
It never happened. I always preferred pastimes that required physical involvement of real objects, rather than those electronically produced.
I guess that's why I'm so baffled by the generations of kids who followed mine who would gladly curl up with a Colecovision, Nintendo, Wii, or Atari (lots of years just covered there!) on a perfectly beautiful day rather than go outside and enjoy the real world.
I know that if such a thing as the gaming console would have existed circa 1967, and if it had managed to grab my attention, its use would have been STRICTLY for rainy days in the Enderland house. My mom would have insisted on it.
I grew up with the idea that the outdoors was for play. The indoors was for play if the weather didn't allow for outdoors play. And sometimes, on a warm rainy day in the summer, f'rinstance, it was a blast to play outdoors in decidedly indoor weather!
My mom had an aversion for me laying around inside when the weather was nice outside. That principle has stuck with me all the way into middle age. If it's a nice day outside, and if I'm not working, I feel guilty doing something inside. So I make my way outdoors and do yard work, or mess with my car, or even slip off for eighteen holes of idiot ball, AKA golf.
But there were those days when a kid simply had to play inside. Frequently, the weather would be so bad that he was on his own, his friends also temporarily locked in their indoor prisons.
Needless to say, we didn't yack on the phone. Mom might miss a call. Another thing about the younger generations that baffles me is how they can talk for hours on cell phones.
So, it was time to get the Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, or GI Joe out and set up the indoor entertainment on the bedroom or living room floor.
But mom would keep a wary eye on the weather. And once the sun came out, it was time to get outside.
What would she think of kids who go without sleep in order to compete in online games that completely remove them from the real world? Some serious online gamers will emerge from a session absolutely unaware of what time it is, or what DAY it is.
My own kids did catch the video game bug. It began with Commander Keen on my very first PC back in 1993. I must admit, Jurassic park (the game) hooked the whole family, including Yours Truly, a year later. But once again, I only played at night or when the weather was bad.
For better or worse, (I strongly suspect the latter), kids today spend many, many more hours indoors than we Boomers did. The idea of hanging out with neighborhood kids all day long like we once did is foreign to many of them. In many cases, this is because parents are simply afraid to let them do so. After all, the world that was ours was a much safer place than the one our grandkids possess.
But even if that's the case, I still think it's a good idea to get the kids and/or grandchildren away from the various electronic forms of indoor entertainment and get them OUTSIDE, even if dad or grandpa has to go with them to keep an eye on things.
Comments (5)
I loved tinker toys and lincoln logs...I was a tom boy, so I never wanted dolls!
I still don't like dolls!
Southern smiles and world peace,
Sharon
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
http://www.BabyBoomerAdvisorClub.com
Posted by Sharon | June 29, 2008 2:26 AM
Posted on June 29, 2008 02:26
My mom would usually bring out the Scrabble board whenever I or some other relative would visit, right up to her death in 2002. She even would take a set with her on trips or play in local tournaments in Florida.
And speaking of video games, here is a link to someone who has made it more than just a time waster: http://www.nescapades.com/gameroom.htm
Posted by David S Paleg | July 1, 2008 6:08 PM
Posted on July 1, 2008 18:08
Your link for TinkerToys on your page
http://www.irememberjfk.com/mt/2008/06/playing_indoors_temporarily.php#more
links instead to GI Joe. . .
(ed. note: fixed now. Thanks for the catch...)
Posted by Bruce Robb | July 21, 2008 4:13 PM
Posted on July 21, 2008 16:13
Yeah, playing outside! Even in Spring, Summer or early Fall we all would still play outside if the rainy day was mostly of the drizzly kind. There were enough covered porches, garages and carports in the neighborhood to run to for the duration of a sudden downpour. We played from yard to yard. Any household that had kids was fair turf. I recall one mom in particular-- if we were in her yard and a little squabble broke out among us, she would raise the window and say, "Y'all play pretty, now, or I'll send you home, you hear?"
Hmmm... I'd kinda like to be sent home about now!
Posted by NCeddie | December 15, 2008 7:27 AM
Posted on December 15, 2008 07:27
I do remember being outside much more. But my mother did not have to push or urge me. In fact, keeping me inside was a punishment. But we lived right next to a good sized woods and a field out back. And several vernal frog ponds, too. And our neighborhood was kid friendly and one more thing. It was the baby boomer age when there were just a lot more kids around, everywhere. There are far fewer kids in any given area now. We can’t afford kids today.
Kids have many more and exciting options in doors. But they have far less outdoors. We destroyed all the wood and fields that I used to play in and around. Kids have to wear helmets so that riding a bicycle almost requires a suit of armor and an insurance policy and a written waiver. And if anything should happen while at another’s house, they could get sued. No wonder we run and hide from each other. So kids have it a lot tougher today.
Oh, yeah, we also got them convinced that the boogey man is around every corner and going to grab them first change he gets. Further, neighbors used to know each other and care about each other and our kids so that kids always had people watching . . . without video cameras with 20x zoom ;-)
Now, most nearly all our neighbors are strangers who we do not speak to and who do not speak to us and might ever mistrust. As such, we and our kids live in fear or at least uncertainty. Quite a mess we got ourselves into, eh?
Lots of things to ponder. Where do we start to fix things? I say society needs to be less mobile and more stable so that we can at least get to know each other. It deserves much thought and discussion but I dare not force it on anyone. But email me if any of you like. My “door” is always open even if my mind is sometimes blank.
This was a very good article, Ron, as always.
Posted by Scott Irv | May 26, 2009 12:36 AM
Posted on May 26, 2009 00:36