Re: A good balance?
 

im actually glad i spend quite a bit of time on my PC its kept me away from some very socially inept people, im not saying i am socially one of the best far from it, but atleast im not trapped in a single minded mentality of finding promiscuous sex and drugs alcohol and such related influences 'in the street' to take over me.

although i still find them all around me when i am out atleast i have learned to stay away from those things, not because im being a goody goody but because its not me, and i know those things are wrong and such related instances.

i still dont like it if i am stuck inside all day, because a computer can never replace physical and social qualties, those are built with time and practice, although i can note that most people around me talk about the above listed things quite a bit alcohol being a main thing.

ofcourse that annoys me!!!!

Re: A good balance?
 

I know that if my daughter spent more time with some of her local friends she'd be doing a lot more.

A lot more hanging around.
A lot more clubbing.
A lot more ... ?

I'm glad she was able to choose good friends from a wider circle of people than just from the limits of her physical locality.

Re: A good balance?
 

Nice of you to judge your daughter like that.....

Physical locality can have a lot to do with meeting friends from further afield - I have friends in America, and New Zealand (both of them native to the countries they live in) that I met through friends closer to home. So not only have I got some truly great frineds, but the opportunity to visit other countries etc - you can learn about other countries and cultures on the internet, but you can't experience it.......

Re: A good balance?
 

i think if when i was in my early teens and i had internet and pc's like we do know i wouldnt of gone out as much :)

mind u i think they spend to much time watching screens it can only be bad for the eyes..

Re: A good balance?
 

All true.

As a teenager, I spent far too much time on computers. In one way, it was good (it's doubtful I would be in the career I am in if I hadn't spent that much time). In another way, it's bad. As Kronas says, you can only really learn how to interact with other people by actually going out and interacting with other people.

IMO, although I like being on forums, I don't think they are a good substitute for actually talking to people. For example, I think I learned a lot more about kronas, Bopdude, dellwear, colin, Ramrod, smeggs, stuart be & silver (however he spells it) in one day actually talking to them than in, in some cases, several years of "talking" on the forums. I knew kink already. It has been the same for all the other forum meets I have been to.

Also, I agree with Chris T. MSN messenger is a bit unnatural in the way you handle conversations.

Although I did spend a lot of time on computers in my teenage years, when I was younger, I was always going to friends' houses on my bike. Most summers I also spent a couple of weeks with my Aunt in Northampton, who actively encouraged us to do stuff like go for walks, and bike riding etc. OK, we did silly things ocassionally, got hurt regularly (the amount of times I fell off my bike doesn't bear thinking about), but we got over it.

Of course, we didn't have the tabloids trying to convince us that if we were let out, we would be killed or abducted. This was in the era of "Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster".

To answer the original question.

I believe that a parent should try and encourage children to do both, but to encourage the children outside more.

Re: A good balance?
 

And of course the best way to encourage your chidren to do anything is to lead by example. :)

Imo a lot of the "I spend all day and night on the PC" talk is because the parents are just sat watching tv or whatever themselves. :rolleyes:

I make a point of taking my little boy to the park to play football etc. at least 4-5 times a week. Hardly ever is there anyone else there, apart from the usual selection of goths skateboarding.

And we both benefit from the excercise. ;)

Re: A good balance?
 

As a kid I spent more time outside than inside. I used to end up miles (probably about 5 or 6 - maybe more) from home, walking in the local countryside. Pretty dangerous really since no one knew where I was and it was very isolated with lots of dangers - water, power station lagoons, open cast mine, and so on. I think I got my first computer aged 8 but it wasn't permanently setup - I had to get it out the box and assemble it. Games consoles came later but they didn't hold much attraction. I think I got my first PC (486 DX50) when I started college at 17 but I wasn't online at that time. PC games did hold an attraction but not in a major way. When I left home I spent a fair few years moving around without access to a PC. When I settled down and started Uni my grandad bought me a new PC (the one I use now) and I went online for the first time.

My dad gave me a love of the outdoors, for which I'm grateful. If I had more money I'd spend more time in the wilds. If anything, these days I spend more time at the PC (12 hours a day on average I'd guess) than anything else. That's because there's nothing else for me to do, and my job hunting is all done online anyway.

Do kids spend too much time online these days? Yes, but as others have said, that's because their parents fear something will happen to their children if they let them out of sight, which isn't true - we have the media to thank for that. I also think parents use the PC very much like they use television - as a child minder. We have the fast-paced modern lifestyle and feminism to thank for that. I don't have problems with children being online just so long as they're supervised and there's a balance between online and offline activity.

I find that I can be myself online - in the "real world" my shyness inhibits me greatly. It's worth noting that for many young gay men and women the Internet is an essential means of finding and communicating with their peers, especially when they're in rural communities. And many disabled and elderly people have found a new life online, free from the physical limitations imposed by their bodies.