Put down that gamepad and climb a bloody tree!

by Tony Carnevale { Apr 2nd 2007 at 1:57PM }

British paper Daily Mail complains that kids aren't climbing trees anymore -- because they're playing video games. The story, which mentions trees and the climbing thereof no fewer than 13 times, reports that while the number of kids diagnosed with RSI (repetitive strain injury) has risen over the last seven years, "the number of children treated for falling out of trees" has dropped. Seriously. This is the basis for a newspaper article.

The piece is a wistful reminiscence of days gone by -- the dewy-eyed headline is "PlayStation generation that will never climb a tree." More like, "Daily Mail longs for the time when 472 kids fell from trees every hour." Now that's a headline!

We here at Joystiq are eagerly anticipating the year 3267, when Daily Mail will run a piece entitled "Zyfnort generation that will never hold a SixAxis." (The Zyfnort is a game console you control not with your hands, but, ironically enough, by repeatedly falling out of trees.)

Tags: climb, playstation, ps3, tree, tree climbing, TreeClimbing, zyfnort

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

RYAN @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:03PM

climbing trees is fun :)

I haven't done that in about 10 years but i'd say it's more due to my age than my videogame addiction

silkylove @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:04PM

What is this hogwash?!!! I climb trees and play Kirby Tilt N' Tumble all the time!

Simon @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:10PM

This is the 'Daily Mail' we're talking about here. Anyone from the UK, or who has ever read a copy of it, would understand that this is probably one of their better articles.

comtar @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:27PM

The Zyfnort causes Supreme Neural Negative Cerebral Mitosis, and causes the Earth to suffer from Isocyclonic Nano-Storms. We should go back to the ancient ways of gaming like Sixaxis or Wiimote to protect the Eart from these horrific worldwide events.

As a representative of the Allied Athiest Alliance all I can say is damn science!

benjamin @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:18PM

Falling out of a tree can lead to broken bones and head trauma. Not that climbing a tree isn't fun, but really, of all the things you could rail against...

James @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:21PM

Isn't that a positive thing? Children are engaging themselves in other activities rather than falling out of trees. Does anybody proof read that stuff?

Shmil @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:20PM

the 2 reasons i don't climb trees-
1- bears
2- bees

Loore @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:21PM

Cant wait for TREE CLIMBER MAMA for the Wii... all the fun of tree climbing without the fun.

$50 for the std. pack and $70 for the limited edition with tree branch snap-on for the wiimote.

Tommy Morris @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:21PM

My six year old loves video games and climbing trees. I must say the fear I get seeing him hang up side down from a tree branch with out any hands touching makes me want to send him inside to play video games.

JodyAnthony @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:26PM

with these past few threads I've read I'd like to say that Loore is quite possibly the worst troll joystiq has ever seen. It's like you don't even try, man. I thought summercamp was bad about not trying, but you take the cake.

jigzat @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:35PM

When i was a litle child i used to do both, climbing trees and playing Atari. The first one almost killed me. I climbed a tall one, as tall as the one in the picture and i fell like 4 branches down. I also almost drown in a river, got run over by a bus, almost got sexualy molested by a dude. Anyway childs are safer playing videogames.

vidGuy @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:41PM

I fell out of a tree and broken my wrist when I was 11, I'm glad I'm inside now where it's safe! ;)

But seriously, this is a stupid correlation. It's like the example they give in my criminal justice classes at college:
Ice cream consumption increases at the same time that rapes do. This doesn't mean that ice cream causes rapes (hint: they both increase because of a third variable - the summer season).

RYAN @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:49PM

ice cream is a pedophile's best friend

Paul @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:32PM

Less kids are playing in the middle of busy streets because of video games too! Kids need to get out into the streets and get hit by cars!!!

Arglor @ Apr 2nd 2007 2:58PM

And I for one welcome our new non-treeclimbing overlords.

"hug a tree, cut it down make a book [gaming manual] out of it."

james @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:04PM

One kid got killed whilst falling out of a tree at my old school.

Daily Mail in child murder shock!

Jonathan Tran @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:10PM

Yeah I can't believe someone's complaining that less kids fall out of trees. Maybe it actually indicates that child safety awareness is up, or that parents are more responsible. hahaha of course not.

shase @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:16PM

Maybe they should say "do more constructive activities" than "climb trees". I fear that as games gets better children will get lazier and stay home instead of going outside to play or doing anything else constructive - reading, playing musical instrument, school teams (Math , science etc.).

I am all for playing games but if i have children they will need to show me their grades before i let them play games. After getting into a great school and getting a great job then they can play a little bit more games.

Diame Johnson @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:21PM

The Larch.

Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:34PM

Hey, so the Daily Hate threw some column inches gaming's way! They totally missed an opportunity to blame asylum seekers here; remember, they're the source of ALL of society's ills.

hapes @ Apr 2nd 2007 3:42PM

The Larch!

Rubang B @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:10PM

What the hell is a tree?

ALH @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:10PM

So let me get this straight, you shouldnt send your kids outside to play because of chavs, pollution, paedophiles, murderers, because they might do drugs, because they might form gangs, because they might cause social disorder but you SHOULD encourage them to go climb trees?

I agree that kids nowadays are far too 'domesticated', but who are parents supposed to listen to? Theyre damned if they dont bubblewrap little johnny from the real world, and damned if they dont.

Vegan @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:16PM

In a related story, incidents of can-kicking injuries are also down. Big deal. Certain forms of recreation go out of style. Traditional video games will, too, someday.

denney @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:21PM

Ok im British tell me why the fuck would i want to climb a tree? I mean shit i stopped jumpping in puddles too you going to pull me up for that too.

Daniel @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:32PM

This is what happens when you climb trees:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=397240&in_page_id=1766&in_page_id=1766&expand=true

Now grab that gamepad and stay indoors!

Viran @ Apr 3rd 2007 5:57AM

Damn, the Daily Mail is the type of paper that would complain about kids breaking branches and destroying trees if they were to climb them.

zenprism @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:37PM

I live in Los Angeles where all the trees have been felled so companies can build way overpriced condos and apartments. What else are kids gonna do besides play videogames, where pixel representations of trees are the only natural green they're ever going to see?

Urbanization +12

Bluebreaker @ Apr 2nd 2007 4:45PM

I feel like that girl from Logan's Run

"Outside? I hate Outside!!"

But I was like that BEFORE I played video games...

jigzat @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:33PM

What do you guys think of a videogame were you earn points by climbing trees and avoiding falls. Maybe that will make them happy

Mr Khan @ Apr 2nd 2007 5:35PM

@ Jody

At least Loore is adequately named to be such (Data's evil brother from Star Trek: Next Generation)

On topic: Kids still play outside and do that whole thing, but i think it's parental paranoia that's pushing the number of tree-climbing injuries down and RSI injuries up. Paranoia prompts many parents to forbid their kids from having good old-fashioned "fun"

Daily Mail is just pandering to a niche, here