Childhood Deficit Disorder and the Atrophy of American Childhood
Over the last 50 years trends in parenting, changes to the physical environment, and a flood of digital media has resulted in a profound “contraction" in the kinds of experiences children enjoy, despite the claims that digital connectedness would do the opposite. The physical range of children has contracted from the neighborhood to the backyard, and finally to the bedroom. The social sphere has contracted from the unsupervised peer group to the adult-mediated playdate and finally the algorithmic social network. The temporal domain of childhood has contracted from hours of free play to a regimented schedule of structured activities interrupted by hours online. Most Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials can tell personal stories marking the trajectory from the "free-range" norms of the 1970s and early 80s to the " intensive parenting " hegemony of the 2020s. Many may not have noticed that public spaces were simultaneously re-engineered to prioritize vehicular tr...