Videophilia and the Future of The Outdoors

According to a new study released by the National Academy of Sciences, participation in outdoor activities has declined by 18 to 25 percent in the past 25 years, something researchers link to the appearance of video games in the daily diet of younger generations. They also cite “overfishing and pollution issues decreasing access to fish populations.” “The decline, found in both the United States and Japan, appears to have begun in the 1980s and 1990s, the period of rapid growth of video games, they said. For example, fishing peaked in 1981 and had declined 25 percent by 2005, the researchers found. Visits to national parks peaked in 1987 and dropped 23 percent by 2006, while hiking on the Appalachian Trial peaked in 2000 and was down 18 percent by 2005.” In The New York Times. (Thanks to John Merwin for this link.)