In recent times, many young people have become less social and stay inside more often. What are the causes of this? How can young people be enabled or encouraged to interact with the outside world more?

In recent times, many young people have become less social and stay inside more often.
What are the causes of this?
How can young people be enabled or encouraged to interact with the outside world more?
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These days, young people are spending more and more of their time indoors at the expense of face-to face interaction. This essay will discuss why this change is happening and suggest some solutions to this problem.
There are several factors that have caused young people to spend less time interacting with their friends in the real world. Firstly, technology has provided children, teenagers and young adults with entertainment and a virtual social life at home. Video games have become incredibly advanced, catering to every taste while social media allows young people to stay connected and communicate with their friends without the need to see them in real life. Secondly, parents have become excessively protective and overbearing, to the point that their children are disallowed from playing on the street or in parks due to ‘stranger danger’. This overprotection from parents is possibly driven by the constant supply of horror stories concerning kidnappings and worse in the media.
Despite these challenges, there are steps that can be taken to entice young people to once again spend quality time with their friends outside the virtual world. First of all, parents and governments should encourage participation in organised sport. These days, it is almost impossible to organise a neighbourhood game of football in a park; however, making organised team sports accessible and affordable will provide a realistic option for bored young people. Furthermore, parents must learn to be more relaxed in the way they care for their children. A level of trust in our neighbours must return if we are to see young people go outside more often.
In conclusion, while there are a number of reasons why young people are spending less time engaging in real-world social interaction, changes can be made that will encourage young people to once again spend time with people outside of the home.