‘Lack of exercise for our kids is not technology’s fault, it’s a cultural failure’

Alas, the UK future generations are ballooning in size as well as number; we are fast – no pun(s) intended – becoming a nation of Veronica Beauregardes. A recent Youth Sports Trust report warns that our #Class of 2035 – American by name, American by nature – are ‘hostages to handheld devices’. Alliteration aside, the hyperbolic claim does conceal a sad truth that we would do well to heed: our children should not see FIFA 2015 online gameplay as a ‘team sport’ any more than their adult counterparts should think the same of gathering their friends on the couch to watch the World Cup.

One solution may be to place warning labels on the front of every iPad box, like cigarettes or NWA albums: ‘Parental advisory – prolonged use of this device may lead to obesity’. But what use would that do when we are a nation of gamers ourselves? An estimated 63% of all gamers are aged over 25 years old; these are the parents and providers, the heads of the household, the role models.

It is time to change how we incorporate technology into our lives to introduce responsibility to our future generations.

Hong Kong – though it may struggle with reaching democracy – seems to have little difficulty merging technology with activity. Let’s be clear: Hong Kongers are so addicted to technology that they are practically born with a USB port on the back of the neck: many is the time that people have bumped into me head-on as they watch films whilst walking; I lament that I have yet to see a physical book or magazine being read on the bus; and yes, people amble at snail’s pace on the narrow pavements with growing imaginary targets on the back of their heads.

But the culture is inherently different from that of the UK, and us Brits could afford to learn from our former colony.

At 8am, countless septuagenarian and octogenarian locals are already mid-way through their daily tai-chi routine; public spaces are accessible, free and plentiful. Outdoor adult playgrounds are a regular feature of the numerous open spaces in Hong Kong both on the island and off – and they are used; indeed, even inside the Zoological and Botanical Gardens (again, free to enter, by the way), there is a ‘Fitness Corner for the Elderly’. Apartment block compounds have shared usage tennis courts, swimming pools, and pedestrianised zones for jogging; children’s laughter and (noisy) joy has rendered my weekend lie-ins a distant memory. Most importantly, I have yet to see a local take a gym selfie.

Yes, of course, the majority of the UK’s cities are not widely known for magnificently unparalleled hikes and sandy beaches right on your doorstep like Hong Kong; the fact that this island’s hilly terrain resembles a giant crumpled ball of paper helps ‘blast those buns’ even on your way to pick up some milk on the way back from work; and I would testify that the stairs in Central district were designed by Escher in a bad mood. But all of this would be irrelevant if it were not for the health-oriented mentality by the population and the facilitation of activity by the authorities.

It’s not our British weather; I’ve been to packed-out boot camps on Clapham Common in the freezing rain. It’s not the scarcity, or premium, of land on which to build; whereas Hong Kong has the fourth largest population density in the world, the UK is 53^rd and London’s farcical housing market overtook Hong Kong’s only last year. It’s also not the lack of public green space; London may often be condemned as a grey urban dystopia, but has royal parks, council parks, garden squares, and commons galore.

So why don’t we make use of them? Because it’s easy to plop a child down in front of the TV, to silence your toddler with an iPad, to reward good behaviour with a video game. I mean, what child wants to spend the weekend jumping in puddles and kicking multi-coloured piles of leaves on Wimbledon Common? Or going to a farm (yes, even an urban farm!) to impersonate the pigs? And, of course, I used to hate the Natural History Museum as a kid. Regents Park? Pfff.  Oh, did I mention these are all free?

The solution to technology is simple: switch it off. Getting children active is really not that difficult; it’s what they are born to do. On the contrary, it’s using technology that is an acquired skill. Being active is a mindset that needs to be nurtured from an early age; technology can only hold us hostage if we plan to build our cages from the inside out.