"One of the salient problems facing us today 

is children's alienation from the natural world.

They are too creeped out to touch earthworms,

they don't know where their food comes from,

and they are afraid to walk in the forest alone.

Or, if they are in the forest, they can't see the forest for their iPhones.

We, and our children, are easily seduced by the panoply of digital treats.

It is so much easier to be a couch potato than to plant potatoes.

The result is that twenty-first-century children spend

eight hours a day interacting with digital media,

and only 30 minutes a day outside.

[Let's] shape a generation of young adults who are grounded in nature,

selectively mature in their use of technology,

and committed to environmental preservation."

- author David Sobel