NY Times article

[ranette]

Anybody buy this? I don't.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/op....html?src=recg

[pk4882]

I smell some truth here... my 19 year old son is tech savvy, but he doesn't know how to throw the rear end out there and get back on the gas at the same time... except in GT4.

By the time I was his age, I had a zillion hours of riding under my belt!

PK

[union]

We have been trending in this direction for a long time now. Kids play video games instead of actually doing things. When guitar hero came out I felt bad for the kids that thought they could actually play a guitar just from the experience in that game. Same goes for racing games.

I got in an argument one night with a coworker about racing video games. He kept trying to tell me what ever game was realistic and I disagreed. He then went on to tell me racing is all physics. I then asked him to explain to me why I can go down a straight, toss my bike into a corner and come out the other end fine in real life but in the game I crash every time. I didnt deny the laws of physics but there is a feel to real riding that isnt available through a game. Of course he didnt agree. At that point I just walked away.

[SRTie4k]

No. There will always be a minority of people who enjoy riding, but I don't think the video game generation would have contributed to that pool if video games never existed. And even if it did, most of them would be posers anyways.

Let riding be for those who love to ride (the minority), who cares about the posers.

[DucDave]

What's his point? Apples and Ducatis...tablets and motorcycles. Corrolation? None that I can see...

[caddydaddy]

So in the future, motorcycles once again will be for the 1%ers!

[backinthesaddle]

Honda used to have a commercial with Jeremy McGrath where some kid was playing a racing video game and an animated Mc tells them to get out and ride. Pretty good commercial.

[markbvt]

I do agree that a lot of kids are more interested in electronic entertainment than actually getting out and doing things. However, I also think that as those kids grow into adults, that dependence on electronic entertainment begins to fade.

I suspect that motorcycles have become relatively more expensive, so it's harder for young people to afford them, and that combined with electronics might help to explain why the average age of new riders may increase over what it was in, say, the '80s.

But I think the visceral appeal of motorcycles and other real pursuits will ultimately win out, in the minds of most people, over electronic games and simulations.

At least, that's what I've observed in myself and my friends.

--mark

[Pittenger5]

I do agree that a lot of kids are more interested in electronic entertainment than actually getting out and doing things.

I think a lot of kids dont have anything to DO anymore thanks to laws and rules and regulations.

[e30addict]

Video games are cheaper than motorcycles...

[danny86]

Video games are cheaper than motorcycles...

Ya exactly. I skimmed the article so perhaps I missed it but...

Motorcycle cost.....
$7,000 Bike
$1000+ gear
$$ for gas
$$ for registration
$$ for license
$$ for sales tax
$$ for inspection sticket
$$ for new tires
$$ for oil
$$ maintenance

Ipad ?
$400.00-$600.00
Internet.... Is that included or ionno ?


Not to mention time....
Back then you could get a middle class life if you worked hard for 40 hours a week. Now, since the disparity between wealthy and poor is growing, younger kids are working more and more hours .

[obsolete]

Sounds like the guy picked a conclusion then researched it.

[gadget]

I am 47 years old.
I played lots of video games when I was a kid.
I bought my first motorcycle for $125 in 1982.
I still love to ride.
I still love to play video games.
That article means nothing to me.

[nhbubba]

I have an iphone. I have a mac. Neither will get my ass to work in the morning. As long as I'm expected @ work, I'll have an interest in motorcycles. (Probably even long after then.)

Although there's definitely a point there. How many kids these days can drive a manual transmission?

[backinthesaddle]

I think a lot of kids dont have anything to DO anymore thanks to laws and rules and regulations.

Good point. In the 70s and 80s we rode trails and practiced mx right from my house. Thanks to building sprawl and land being off limits a kid who wants to ride in RI better know someone who has private property.

[SVenpointsixtwo]

Speaking as a "kid" who just pre-ordered Modern Warfare 3 and fully expects to be absolutely useless for the next few weeks as I prestige a few times; no way. Nothing beats the "real" experience of ripping on a motorcycle. I love video games, sure. But I mostly play the games that allow me to do things I would never want to experience in real life, like shooting someone in the face. Granted, I play racing games too, but the really fun ones are set on the street, not the track! Some things are just less risky in digital form. For everything else, there's two wheels!

[tsorfas]

What's his point? Apples and Ducatis...tablets and motorcycles. Corrolation? None that I can see...

i think he was trying more in depth the technology over physical activities but he is just familiars with motorcycles thats why he threw that in the article..
we can argue that less kids will play sports because of technology but motorcycle are a whole different topic

[DoubleRGirl]

i think he was just reaching for a story, and knows any mention of an apple product always gets attention

[01xj]

I wasn't able to afford a motorcycle till I was 22. I'm sure in 15 years some of the generation he's reffering to will have turned into decent human beings, some of them being motorcycle riders. It seems kind of silly to judge a generation when they can't even drive yet. I'm sure people said the same thing about my generation when gameboy and MTV were the hottest thing.

[Hammerspur]

... a lot of kids are more interested in electronic entertainment than actually getting out and doing things... as those kids grow into adults... the visceral appeal of motorcycles and other real pursuits will ultimately win out...

In some cases this would certainly be true, but not that frequently from my observation.

Of the younger (post-boomer) guys I know at work any of them have pretty good tech savvy some exceptionally so.
I see them constantly worrying over their smart phones every spare moment or sometimes scanning video game magazines.

About the only "real" experience I ever hear discussion of is buying new computer stuff, etc...
OR exploring their next potential sexual encounter... neither a newly acquired interest I would imagine.
These 'kids' are around 40yo.

Discussions of this apparent trend with my peers leads us to suspect that software is steadily eclipsing hardware in the national consciousness, virtual overshadowing actual.

Perceptions voiced by 'exers' or 'nexters' here are not IMO an accurate multi-generational cross section since this is a hardware-heavy special interest place populated by the exceptions to the rule.
Society is always changing.