Nature Valley is pointing out the striking disparity between what children did for fun in earlier generations and what the children of our generation do today. A new ad for the General Mills-owned granola bar company asks three generations of families the same question: “When you were a kid, what did you do for fun?”
The two older generations reminisced about being children playing in the outdoors: picking blueberries, playing hide and seek, building forts, and fishing by the river.
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In contrast, the children of today reported spending a majority of their time playing video games, streaming videos online, and texting on their phone.
One boy in the video confessed that he often gets lost in video games:
“I forget I’m in a house, that I have parents, that I have a sister, that i have a dog. I just think I’m in the video game. I completely get lost.”
Another boy revealed that he plays video games to relieve his negative emotions,
“Whenever I feel upset, I play video games, and I feel normal.”
The ad tells viewers that everyone has a “special connection with nature that needs to be nurtured.” “Nature has always been a part of childhood,” it says. “Let’s make sure it doesn’t stop with us.”
