I was driving through my neighborhood the other day when I saw…a group of kids riding their bikes.
No, seriously. Kids. Riding. Bikes. There were no electronic devices involved. No one was checking Instagram. There were no hovering, fretful parents, either.
For a moment I thought I had strayed into a time slip, and wandered back into the 1970s or 1980s, when the “free range” childhood was the norm. During the summer months, I used to take off at 8 o’clock in the morning—maybe come back for lunch—and disappear again until dinnertime. The bicycle was the cornerstone of that style of summering.
But that simply isn’t done anymore! Someone might get hurt! And think about all the screen time that the kids are missing.
I had to be back in 1978 or 1982! Time travel is real, I told myself.
Then I noticed that the kids were all wearing helmets, as if they were commandos assaulting the Taliban headquarters in Afghanistan. A concession to the hyper-vigilant, ever-nervous present. No—I was still in 2025! Whew! That was a close one!
Nevertheless, this was reassuring to see. For years now, childhood has become increasingly screen-based and indoors. This trend accelerated during the pandemic.
The result is a young generation that is more disturbed than ever—even more than my grandparents’ generation was; and they came of age during the Great Depression—when there was actually a lot to worry about.
According to one recent study, 30 percent of adolescents today are affected by anxiety disorders. Some pundits blame social media. I don’t disagree with that analysis. I’m 56 years old, and an hour on Facebook or TikTok gives me anxiety, too.
I will interpret the kids on bikes as a positive sign, then. Perhaps there is a collective realization that the kind of childhood enjoyed by Generation X and the Baby Boom generation was much healthier—even if we didn’t wear bike helmets.
-ET