In these modern times, children are not encouraged nearly enough to use their imaginations.  Not many years ago there wasn’t much kids could do except use their imaginations or work.  Most chose to use their imaginations.  The biggest reasons that children do not use their imaginations are television, the computer, and video games.

            From an early age, children are indoctrinated to “shut up and watch TV.”  All the early years of their lives, kids grow up absorbed in the television set.  This prevents a child from using their own imagination because they live their lives immersed in the imagination of another person.  Cartoons, talk shows, these fill the days of a child with endless chatter, encouraging them to not think for themselves, but let the tube think for them.  There is a young girl that has watched television constantly since she was really little.  Now that she’s older, she has problems with any of her schoolwork that requires her to think and use any type of logical reasoning.  She’s naturally very smart, but when it comes to thinking for herself, it’s like she doesn’t have any sense at all.  She is especially inept when it comes to any type of art project- she has no imagination whatsoever, and I firmly believe it is because she never had to do anything but watch television.

            The computer is an up-and-coming detriment to a child’s imagination.  Now that almost every household has a computer, an entire world of information from the imaginations of other people open up before them.  A child doesn’t even have to think up the answers to homework, because all they have to do is go online and find them.  Research papers, book reports, language converters, even sites where you can get math problems solved keep a child from having to figure out the answers themselves.  Websites full of useless information clog up the minds of today’s youth.  The danger of the computer is especially tempting to smarter kids.  They want to get online and spend the majority of their time looking at things that interest them.  This eventually prevents them from doing the things that help them out in the real world.  It makes them dwell on the thoughts of others rather than thinking up thoughts for themselves.

            Video games are one of the worst problems in the world today.  Not only are they purported to expose children to violence, but also they totally absorb their minds in another world so that they are not even aware of their own minds.  Whether the game is a computer game or a console such as PlayStation, kids become too involved in video games, and their prefabricated worlds do not give them an outlet for their own creativity.  Hour upon hour is spent sitting in front of a mind-numbing array of storylines, action, dialogue, and violence.  This is probably the biggest reason that children today do not have an active imagination.

            Just a few decades ago, the youth of the world were an active, imaginative, creative bunch.  Although limited television, such as Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, was acceptable for smaller kids, most of the time a young person was being active, playing by themselves or with other kids.  Simple toys encouraged a child to create their own worlds in which to find enjoyment to fill their days.  Even modern toys such as action figures and Barbie dolls give a kid the motivation to get their brains in gear and make up their own rules for their own little world.  The age-old invisible friend is now totally replaced with the Super Mario Bros. and an endless array of brainwashing, meaningless cartoons.  The worst part of it is, most people don’t seem to notice.