Teenagers going outside vrs staying in

[Passacaglia 6]

I agree that it's good for teenagers to get outside and be useful, but the mentality of the judge quoted in the article is not very accommodating of certain types of people. He sort of said that it's not okay to dream and be an idealist... and I know that wasn't the point of what he was saying, but I find it kind of upsetting because you can still have that kind of personality and be useful. And I'm kind of tired of people trying to turn everybody into a copy of themselves or what they consider to be the ideal person.

Anyway, on topic, it's not really that hard to do the stuff you do inside outside instead. If it's just about getting fresh air, then take a laptop or phone outside or go meet some friends or something. Parents forcing their kids to go outside might be annoying, but it's not like you have to be outside all day or anything.

[MelancholicMemory 2,022]

My family forced me outside every day as a kid, more specifically, I was locked outside for most of the day, and it didn't benefit me at all. I'd shoot some hoops, go for a walk, or loiter around, but I never did anything that improved myself or the community in any way. It's not my fault (or the fault of kids today). I didn't improve my social skills either. The only one I had to hang out with was my brother, who I hate more than anyone or anything. People forget that as a child or even a teen, your resources are limited. You can't go visit your friends because you can't drive. You can't go start a community garden because you have no money of your own for tools or anything.

 

And that's another point, teenagers don't care about bettering themselves or the world. They want to have freaking fun! They aren't going to just go volunteer or build a community garden. They're 14! They should be shooting each other with paintball guns or something. And once you're a teen "playing pretend" is a social taboo, so "making your own fun" is hard. Let's try to be more sympathetic to our youth, people.

 

Personally, I blame the past two generations for a lot of this one's problems. If the economy weren't in the tank, we'd have more opportunities for kids to socialize and have fun in our towns. If they weren't such awful parents, we wouldn't be so mentally screwed up.

 

If you wanna make a kid live a happier, healthier life, take the time to be involved in their life. Bring them to a friend's house so they can jam on the guitar for hours or steal each other's money at poker. Those are the things I remember that benefited me socially. Or just take them outside and play ball with them. You can't just say "GO OUTSIDE" without giving them something to do, and expect good results. Also, if anyone here is or becomes a parent, please don't lock your children outside all day like I was ;(

 

Oh, and if you want children to develop socially, the best thing you can do is get them to join student organizations, clubs, sports, etc. (BUT ONLY ONES THEY ACTUALLY LIKE). There's a sense of comradery there that is awesome for social development.

 

Teenagers can be really stupid in a lot of ways, yes, but let's not forget that adults are pretty darn stupid too.

 

(To put this in context, I'm currently 20)

[Cactus 155]

I think people should absolutely spend some time outside. It's unhealthy not to spend at least a half hour or so.

 

However, I was raised by the internet, and I do feel that I am less ignorant for it. I spent years in chats and forums that would not tolerate nonsense, so I was forced to adapt and become more mature to be accepted into the community. I do think spending time on the internet (no, not Facebook, the REAL internet) can help a teenager grow in many ways to be connected to so much information and so many people with different cultures and ideas.

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I love to go outside. If only me and my friends could get together and do outside stuff. Like airsoft, or walking around town. Going outside can be more fun than being inside if done right. I'm a teen by the way.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

When I was in high school, marching band practice was where I spent the most time outside. "Study your lessons" more or less took up the majority of my time after school, thus giving me a limited amount of free time. This will probably sound bad, but after being sleep deprived all school year and putting my effort in at school and band, I didn't exactly feel energetic enough to go running around outside. 

 

I don't oppose going outside (and enjoy it from time to time myself), but I think that it's unfair to write off indoor activities. There are plenty of productive activities that can be done indoors. It's not so much where a person is, but what they do. I think that teens should have something productive that they enjoy doing. Music was what I did (and still do), and I learned a lot of valuable lessons (social skills included) from that. 

Though I do think that going outside one's house regularly in some shape is pretty necessary, just for sanity's sake. =P

[DITR 180]

I think people should care about what's best for themselves, not what's best for others. It pisses me off when people complain about teenagers, being that I am one myself. One time I asked my dad "Why do people hate teenagers so much?" "Well, people don't hate teenagers, but teenagers are some of the dumbest people on the planet." Newsflash, there are plenty of stupid adults out there ; corrupt politicians, everyone on the Jersey Shore, child beauty pageant moms, religious zealots, the list goes on. This video provides more examples http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2wh1-jdBrY 

[Moon Rat 4,772]

Well holy crap I must be the only kid whose mother did the exact opposite

 

Which is to say that my mom would never let me go outside without her being right there with me. even when I was a teenager, she always had to be right there which ended up being rather awkward in the sense that I couldn't talk to my friends without her being right there listening...

 

I wish I could have had the chance to go outside as a kid,

I would have been so much better off