Consumer Electronics Causing 'Death of Childhood'?

An anonymous reader writes "Top children's authors, including best-seller Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials), have written an open letter to the British Government claiming that consumer electronics have brought about the death of childhood. They say that children desperately need 'real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first-hand experience of the world they live in'. The letter writers also state that children have lost their imaginations because they are, 'pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material which would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past.' The article asks, 'is modern life too fast for the supple human mind? Do children have a rev counter we're red-lining by exposing them to so much input?'" So what does Slashdot think? Are kids growing up too fast nowadays because of them new-fangled technologies?

Growing up too fast?

[Zardus]

Short answer: No
Long answer: Yes

Dang kids today....

[Kenja]

Dang kids today, with their sprialgraph and rock em sockem robots.

In my day all we had was a hoop and a stick! And sometimes we didn't even have the hoop!

And in other news

[Travoltus]

Kids live longer today than they did before, so let's not all start talking about going back to the "simple life" where all the farm girls look like Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie.

Poor kids

[siriuskase]

Fortunately my kid's too poor for all that crap. 200 pound per hour therapists? His only indulgence is slashdot.

Sounds like

[CODiNE]

The Nothing is devouring Fantasia. ATREYUUUUU!!!!!!

Re:Growing up too fast?

[Anonymous Coward]

in the words of Rockstar Games:

Jeffrey 'OG Loc' Cross: [in radio interview] "I've been gangbangin' since I was three."

'nuff said.

Re:And in other news

[ceoyoyo]

If a farm girl actually looked like Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie they'd feed her until she was strong enough to actually do some work.

this is nonsense

[weierstrass]

my child was raised to educate himself through playing video games alone in his room from a young age. my wife and i feel that many modern parents spend far too much time trying to entertain their children, who themselves would rather be defining their own identities by using technology. this is often because the parents themselves do not have much in their lives and are bored.

our son is growing into a well-adjusted and emotionally literate young man. the skeptical may wish to view this home video [youtube.com] of him relaxing and playing unreal tournament.

Re:Growing up too fast?

[SydShamino]

I dunno. I got a lot of great reading in as a child, while I swapped floppies waiting for my game to load on my Commodore 64 - for some games as often as every few minutes.

With the load screens on some modern console games, I expects today's kids could get the same broad literary experience.

Re:Send them all up chimneys!

[Gilmoure]

Cardboard box? You were lucky. We had to live, all 115 of us, in a paper bag in a septic tank.

Re:Not my children

[Shaper_pmp]

Good god. It's... almost like... her parents... have the biggest impact... on her upbringing!

Jesus Christ! Think of the implications! Someone get Jack Thompson and Hillary Clinton on the phone and tell them they've been wasting their time right now!

I think I've got a whole new solution to this "wayward kids" problem they're so concerned about!

Re:Poor kids

[Shaper_pmp]

Dad?