Re: The end of the roadgeeking era?
- From: XOZ <garoadwarrior76@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 19:29:39 -0700 (PDT)
On Mar 30, 11:18 pm, "Monte Castleman" <mdcastle...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Marc Fannin" <musxf...@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:d2ee1532-739b-4695-a044-ff33fa6b5cdf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"More teens waiting to get driver's license" (3/28/08, in print
edition 3/29)
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/03/more_teens_waiting_to_get_dri...
It's a bit of a stretch to make that claim, but here are excerpts:
"...But increasingly, the unlimited landscape of cyberspace trumps the
charm of the road.
And the primal drive for a license disappears.
'This used to be the space where kids were free,' said Montana Miller,
a pop culture professor at Bowling Green State University. 'They could
go where they want, explore, get away from the surveillance of their
parents, socialize. The car was the center. Now, they have MySpace.
That serves so many of the same needs -- and it's free.'
Not exactly free. Mom and Dad likely pay for the computer and
Internet, and maybe the cell phone as well. But it's cheaper than
filling the tank each week."
...and...
"...[T]eens no longer pile into a car, roll down the windows and drive
aimlessly for something to do. Said Ashley, perplexed at the idea,
'You'd have to be super bored.'"
Of course, they could see the virtual roadtrips on roadgeek websites,
but of course that's not the point of the story.
As claimed in some of the comments at the bottom, the story is
probably based primarily on anecdotal evidence (though the Census
Bureau, FHWA, and the Ohio Department of Public Safety are cited), so
it may not be a trend, but it's telling nonetheless.
Another factor might be all the restrictions on teen licenses these days.
Although I was considerably older when I got my license about a decade ago
in Minnesota, if you got one when you turned 16 you could drive at 3:00 in
the morning with a car full of your friends talking on a cell phone, the
same priveleges as any other adult driver. Not today.
I'll now get on my soapbox. Some of you have heard this before, but I feel
strongly so I'll repeat it. In our society we have a whole graduated system
to adulthood, ranging from around 13 were someone could be charged as an
adult if they did something outrageous enough to being able to run for
president at 35. We need to pick an age, I don't care what, and say at that
point a kid is an adult and has all the adult rights and responsibilities.
It makes no sense why you can learn how to drive at 15 but not rent a car
until 25, or why the army takes people and lets them drive tanks and whatnot
that aren't considered responsible enough to have a beer.
Still I agree with the article. Teens nowdays are just plugged in and have
no interest in the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, camping, and such are
stagnent or declining even as the population increases. I was raised in a
family where the father had a fit if there was a mosquito around and other
kids were carriers of germs. So I spent most of my childhood locked indoors.
I didn't sleep in a tent or paddle a canoe or even spend a night away from
my family until a joined a church youth group in high school. Although I
never learned how to swim and don't own a boat I still love the outdoors,
meanwhile I don't have a clue what the big attraction is about myspace. I
guess I'm just old.
As for roadgeeking itself, I don't think it's the end of the era. Even back
when teens cruised in cars they cared more about that hot chick they just
passed rather than what wattage the street lights are. There'll always be a
place for eccentric hobbies. Another hobby of mine is tube audio. Look at
the prices of vintage gear on ebay. I'm obviously not the only one, and how
long has it been since tube amps were mainstream. Even if the era of
cruising is done there will always be roadgeeks.
If that's true, that's tragic. I talk to people these days that never
want to go anywhere or do anything that doesn't involve cyberspace or
going to a club. I guess I'm a kid of the 90's, because I still love
all of the above: long roadtrips, outdoorsy stuff, etc. However, I
must say that longer work hours, worse traffic, people in general less
connected and the soaring cost of gas, living, etc. has pretty well
made it very difficult for me to do the same things that came so easy
when I was still a teenager. It's depressing.
.
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