Running head: CHILDREN DON’T PLAY ANYMORE 1

Children Do Not Play Anymore

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Children Do Not Play Anymore

In the past, children were mostly known for their cheerful and playful nature. Apart from

doing some of the activities that children in this era do, like go to school, church, or

accompanying their parents to grocery stores, they used to engage in activities that were playful.

At the time, children were active as they also developed emotionally and physically. Children,

furthermore, had less anxiety, depression, and exercised self-control. Children in today’s era are

a great contrast from those of the past. They tend to spend most of their time indoors watching

TV, using their smartphones, or playing video games. The lack of play among today’s children is

caused by technological, social, and cultural factors (Vente, 2018).

Technology related factors are interfering with children’s play. Technology, over the past

few decades, has become more advanced engulfing children. Children are more attracted to

technological devices than they are with playing or socializing with their friends. Today’s

children have abundant access to technological devices such as smartphones, computers, and

play stations. If a child is not using a smartphone, he or she is busy with a video game or a

movie. The use of these devices creates an addictive pattern that results in children engaging less

in outdoor activities (Vente, 2018). Technology is viewed as a source of entertainment,

substituting the time children would have spent playing outside.

In terms of social factors, children are less attracted to play due to reasons that relate to

education, employment, household composition, and social mobility. Education, for instance, has

changed greatly as children in this era are bombarded with lots of school activities, which they

have to complete while at home (Quansah et al., 2016). In this sense, playtime among children is

limited as their focus is needed elsewhere. Household composition also affects a child’s

playtime. Families that are smaller in size often have children lacking playmates. As a result, the
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children find themselves playing on their own, which mostly happens while they are indoors.

Social factors, therefore, have a tremendous effect on a child’s lack of play in today’s era.

Cultural factors, furthermore, contribute to children’s lack of play in today’s era. In the

United States, for example, immigration has resulted in a more diverse culture. There US

population is composed of people from different regions of the world such as the Chinese,

Caucasian, Latin, and African Americans. Cultural differences between these groups of people

affect children’s social lives (Huang, 2019). In this case, children who view themselves as

different from the rest of the group end up spending most of their time indoors. Moreover,

children in this era are used to doing more structured and formal activities as oppose to the past

when boys and girls would engage in different kinds of games. Regardless of how culture is

applied in modern society, it is bound to affect children’s play, one way or another.

Children’s play in the modern era is affected by technological, social, and cultural

factors. Technology has become a part of children’s lives. Children rely on technology devices

for entertainment, thereby affecting their playtime. Social factors such as education, household

composition, and employment affect children’s play in the modern era in different ways. In terms

of cultural factors, immigration and a change in structure and formal activities among children

have resulted in less playtime. Technology, cultural, and social factors are, therefore, the reasons

why children do not play anymore.

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References

Huang, C.-Y. (2019, March 26). How culture influences children's development. Retrieved from

https://theconversation.com/how-culture-influences-childrens-development-99791.

Quansah, E., Ohene, L. A., Norman, L., Mireku, M. O., & Karikari, T. K. (2016). Social factors

influencing child health in Ghana. Plos One, 11(1). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0145401

Vente, M. (2018, May 15). The kids don't play anymore. Retrieved from

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/why-the-kids-dont-play-any-

more/article15446614/.