adapted from the essay "Quiet Streets"
Natasha Kerensky
This past summer, I meandered down the typical, suburban street in America on which I live, and do you know what stood out to me above all else? The silence. Sure, a few cars rumbled past me, a neighbor's air-conditioning unit roared to life, and a dog barked in the distance, but something was missing—the sound of children at play.
3When I was young, I spent nearly every hour of daylight playing outside, regardless of the season. In summer, my mother dropped me at my aunt's house early in the morning before work, and I remained there until dinnertime when she returned. During school, I disembarked the school bus there every day. I didn't mind; my cousin Lori and I were the same age, and we happened to be best friends. On most days, Lori and I were outside playing in her huge yard or in the surrounding woods when my mother arrived to pick me up and take me home.In warm weather, we rode bikes up and down her long dirt driveway. We attached the sprinkler to the hose and set up a slip-and-slide on the big hill in the side yard. Sometimes we ventured to Lori's neighbors' house to swim in their huge in-ground pool, where we jumped and splashed in the chlorinated water until our fingers and toes 5were prunes. When the weather turned cooler, we'd rake leaves into piles to create soft landings for our "swing jumps." On snow days, we donned hats, gloves, and scarves and went ice skating, or we trudged to the top of the highest hill and then rode a sled down, screaming and laughing the whole way.
One big outdoor draw was Lori's incredible playhouse. My uncle, a carpenter by trade, had constructed a two-story wooden playhouse in the backyard. The ground level of the playhouse was an enormous, screened-in sandbox—perfect for anthropological digs and desert crossings. The second story, accessed via a set of stone steps that ascended a bank, contained a table and chairs, a few windows, and a Dutch door that opened onto a balcony. A fireman's pole allowed instant access from the second-story balcony to the grass below. Attached to the playhouse was a swing set with two swings, a sliding board, and a tire swing. The playhouse was any child's dream, and we spent countless hours in it. It became a busy fire station, a superhero hideout, and a makeshift cabin for a band of lost kids.
One thing the playhouse never was, however, was quiet. We made noise when we played outside—not noise for the sake of noise but the noise of happy kids—just like all the other children living in all the other houses around us. We yelled, laughed, and thudded to the ground; we cried when we skinned our knees on the pavement.
When I walked down my street this past summer, swing sets stood empty and abandoned and pools remained as smooth and still as glass. One might be inclined to blame an aging population, but the truth is that almost every house on my street is home to at least one child. However, the kids inside these homes take advantage of "entertainment media"—gadgets such as computers, video game systems, television sets, music players, and so on. They would rather play online than outside, immersing themselves in a virtual world than instead of in a swimming pool, watching the Discovery Channel instead of making a discovery.
6Parents are mainly to blame for allowing their children to become obsessed with entertainment media. A Kaiser Family Foundation report from 2010 found that American children between the ages of eight and eighteen spend an average of 7.6 hours engaged with entertainment media every day; that's about 53 hours per week. For them, entertainment media has become a full-time job—with overtime! An earlier study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, published in 2003, found that about 70 percent of four- to six-year-olds have used a computer, with about 25 percent using a computer every day. A 2009 study by a psychology professor at Iowa State University revealed that one in ten video-game players between the ages of eight and eighteen has a pathological addiction to video games, which means that video-game playing actually harms their normal functioning.The negative effects of too much engagement with entertainment media—childhood obesity, depression, increased violence (especially in relation to violent video games), declining eyesight, and so on—are well-known and often make headlines.
8The good news is that these negative effects can be counteracted with outdoor play.Numerous scientific studies have shown that spending even a minimal amount of time outdoors reduces aggression and increases feelings of happiness.Playing outdoors also improves creativity, problem-solving skills, flexibility, and focus. Children learn to think for themselves and tap into their imaginations. Moreover, a 2011 paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology suggested that children and adolescents who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop myopia, or nearsightedness, than children who spend less time outside.
To me it seems clear: the key to happier, healthier kids is outdoor play. 10Unplugging them won't be easy, but it will be well worth it in the end. Let's bring some life back to these quiet streets.
Question
According to the passage, which of these research results was published FIRST?
Responses
A About 70 percent of four- to six-year-olds have used a computer, with about 25 percent using a computer every day.About 70 percent of four- to six-year-olds have used a computer, with about 25 percent using a computer every day.
B One in ten video-game players between the ages of eight and eighteen has a pathological addiction to video games.One in ten video-game players between the ages of eight and eighteen has a pathological addiction to video games.
C Children between the ages of eight and eighteen spend an average of 7.6 hours engaged with entertainment media each day.Children between the ages of eight and eighteen spend an average of 7.6 hours engaged with entertainment media each day.
D Children and adolescents who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop nearsightedness than children who spend less time outside.Children and adolescents who spend more time outdoors are less likely to develop nearsightedness than children who spend less time outside.