A recent survey into how teenagers in a Southeast Asian country spend their free time has come up with what some people regard as a surprising finding: many of those surveyed reported that they would rather stay at home and do things indoors than go out and experience real-life adventures. One in four teenagers surveyed believed that online experiences were as fulfilling as real life, and more than half were actually afraid of trying new experiences. When asked about their most memorable experience over the previous ten months, nearly 30% of boys said 'playing a new video game', while 10% of all teenagers said it was watching a new TV series. On asking for more detailed information, researchers found that 20% of boys and 22% of girls said they had never had a real-life adventure.
It would be easy to blame technological advances for these findings. After all, today's teenagers have many more indoor activities to choose from than did their parents. About half a century ago, children were expected to spend more of their free time outside. But researchers do not put the blame wholly on technology.
To members of older generations, these findings are worrying, because it means that young people increasingly rely on virtual reality and are consequently missing out on real outdoor activities such as mountain climbing, kayaking, etc., which have always been regarded as both enjoyable and character- building. The surveyed adults said they thought today's youth were more protected than they had been when they were growing up. Giving examples of this protection, more than half said they would not let their teenage children hitchhike or go on holiday without an adult. Seven in ten said they would not even allow teenagers to get into a taxi on their own. It is not clear whether adults believe the world is more dangerous than it used to be or whether they do not trust today's youngsters to look after themselves.
(Adapted from Cambridge English First for Schools)