Hearts, Minds, and Touchscreens

Abstract

Of the many challenges awaiting natural resource scientists in the next decade, the ones that give me the longest pause all have to do with how young Americans experience, understand, and appreciate nature. Although climate change literacy has increased markedly in the last decade, younger Americans are simply getting outside less than they ever have before. Heads of families working longer hours, school and intramural sports budget cuts, and the omnipresence of touchscreens—to name but a few issues—have all helped make today’s youth the most sedentary American generation ever. This generation, that physically visits the natural world at historically low rates, will shortly be tasked with studying and managing the very landscapes they so rarely visit for the benefit of themselves and their descendants.