This morning I woke up and since "CBS News Sunday Morning" was three-quarters over, I turned it to the History Channel. A show called "'80's Tech" was on, and havng grown up in the '80s, I was immediately glued to the TV. They talked about the evolution of the PC, and also video games, along with showing old clips of arcades and Pac Man and Donkey Kong and the like.
I remembered Ataris and video arcades being popular at the same time when I was elementary school-age. I never really thought about which one was there before the other. According to the program, home video game consoles like the Atari became popular for people who didn't feel like going out to the arcades all the time. So apparently there were arcades and then there was the Atari. People a bit older than me who remember Pong (which came from Atari, Inc. in the 1970s) might dispute that though.
Then I started thinking about lethargy, and the fact that many people now stay inside all day, glued to their computers or their video games or their cell phones and never really do much else. I wondered if maybe there was a connection between the growth of video game technology and accessibility and obesity rates, especially childhood obesity rates.
I searched around online (yes, I am biting the hand that's feeding this post) to see if there was a clear-cut timeline showing when the obesity epidemic began in the U.S. The closest thing I could find was one article saying maybe the late 1980s/early 1990s was when it all started to take off. Just when more video games and better, enhanced imaging and way better gaming consoles started flooding the market.
There is also that matter of the internet taking off like wildfire in the mid-1990s. I can still hear that dial-up "log on" sound in my head sometimes, even though most people younger than 20 probably remember dial-up the same way I vaguely recall 8-track tapes.
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that parents not let their children's total entertainment media time exceed two hours every day, but do most parents take this advice?
I also have to wonder whether our adult habits of staying on Facebook and our cell phones all hours of the day and night contribute to the problem. Can you credibly tell your kid to turn off the TV and go play outside, if you're pausing in the middle of your text message to look up and do it? That reminds me, does it burn more calories to write a letter or send a text to someone? You don't have to move as much, and you won't have to get up and go walk around the house looking for paper and writing utensils.
That being said, I LOVE technology. I can't remember a life before texting and social networking. I'm that person who will carry a text conversation for two hours instead of just simply calling someone. I still haven't used facetime yet on my iPhone 4S (No, I don't have the 5 yet!). Who wants to be the first to have facetime? And what would I do without having google there everytime I have a question?
I'm not going to say technology is evil and the scourge of the Earth. Maybe it's like food, and we need to better control our portions.
I will try to have a gym post later in the week -- and get back to posting about my workouts more. I posted my latest workout pics from today on the Kurt 3.0 Facebook page. Be sure to "like" my page if you have not! :)
Have a great week, and do something good for yourself!!
It's true. I remember when I was a kid. there were the kids who stayed outside to play, and the kids who never left their houses, because they were playing video games. A lot of kids I knew were basically raised on video games. It was their babysitter. I know a lot of adults who still can't go a day without playing a computer game, or put down their xbox controller. I think society has changed a lot since televisions generally became a household must have. People eat their meals in front of the tv. It seems to have become much worse since the invent of video games. Not only does it cause a decline on our health, it also causes people to spend less time socializing with their friends and families. I'm currently posting this comment from my cell phone while sitting on the couch in front of the tv. Probably the reason I'm so overweight haha. I think most people have become impatient with everything. We expect an instant fix to all our problems. We have doors that open when we stand underneath them, because its just too much work to push it open. We sit on our couches and watch infomercials about instant weight loss pills, and 10 minute workout videos. I feel that the steady decline in our health is based upon a large accumulation of things. I could take it way back to when families sat around in front of their radios to listen to stories. Then came a lot of dancing. For some reason, after that, people stopped wanting to be sociable. Maybe they were too afraid of what was socially acceptable and what wasn't. We all decided it was much more fun to sit at home to eat our food and watch movies. I think the general problem could be blamed on television. Only thing is, I rarely even watch it, and I'm a pretty big girl haha. Maybe I'm just lazy. But, I think you are right on the mark with this one. Most adults in our time have grown up in front of televisions and computers. I think to most of us it seems normal, but its really hurting the health and wellbeing of all of us. Good post cousin. I like this one. It really got me thinking. -Sarah Lewis.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is a culmination of things that have done this to people, and I realized after I wrote this post that it is a no-brainer that video games and the like have been contributors I guess I felt the need to spill my two cents on it.
DeleteAND STOP BEING SO HARD ON YOURSELF, SARAH!!! :)
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