To ask what your teenagers do with their spare time? It can't just be gaming surely...

[Flamingo1980]

I know no teenagers so I've absolutely no idea what they do 'these days'. So I'm asking because I simply don't know, I'm not judging or criticising.
I ask because my collegue at work told me that her son spends up to six to eight hours EVERY DAY gaming alone in his room and apparently all of his friends do the same.
I'm genuinely shocked and a bit worried about this. What on earth does that do to a persons mind? I KNOW I must sound like an out of touch fuddy-duddy (I'm 35) but I openly admit to being completely ignorant on the subject as as I said I don't know any teenagers at all.
'In my day' my brother spent his free time either playing football with his mates or building gliders or mountain biking etc.
Don't teenagers - indeed all humans - need sunlight, social interaction, exercise and fresh air sometimes?? Could this be why so many kids now have depression, adhd etc...?
Please reassure me this isn't all teenagers as I fear for the next generation of this is true..

DD1 (16)
Theatre, both watching and performing
Watching films
Writing (she has twice done Nanowrimo)
Social media - she has a lot of followers on Twitter, and gets into quite fierce debates about gender politics, as well as just generally socialising online with friends
Music
Actual socialising with friends
Photography
Visiting art galleries

DD2 (14)
Art
Music
Watching various cult series and films
Playing a particular computer game I can't remember the name of
Making little things to sell in an Etsy shop, once she gets started

DS (12)
Xbox
Music
Hockey
Water polo
Drama
Magic the gathering
Watching various cult series and films (some overlap with DD2)
Watches the news every morning

My two wouldn't be that interested in most of the stuff on your list Clobbered. Why does he avoid going outside? Outside is good.

Mine don't seem to have a lot of spare time - doesn't your colleague's Console Boy get homework for heaven's sake?

DS is a guitar kind of chap (before, after and sometimes during homework). Also writes angst-ridden songs, and goes into town to buy shoes (yes, really).

DD draws, chats, untidies rooms at a sweep, and makes a lot of cake.

Older DS used to do a lot of rather niche gaming, including creating what he refers to as 'online-ready 3D resources and assets' and I call 'model trains'. (On the plus side, the one thing he found dead easy at university is the 3D modelling.)

Oldest DS19 when he's not working,he goes to Judo once a week with his Dad(my DH)he goes out a lot with his friends.
He's out tonight with mates they've gone out drinking and then they're staying at a hotel,that's used to renting out for one night for people going to the pubs and clubs(very thoughtful lads)so that I don't stay up till God knows when to let them all in.
He also goes out biking with a group of friends,goes fishing when it's in season.
Goes into town clothes shopping,cinema out for lunch with his brother our DS17.
Sometimes a group of them will go into town together.
Last weekend he took our DD12(his little sister) into town so she could spend her pocket money and he treated her to lunch and then took her to treatz.
He'll come out with us if were doing a day trip and he hasn't promised friends that he'll meet them.
He visits friends at they're houses.
He's always being invited to partys and raves and nights out.
Meets up with friends from work and they all go out together.
He's been bowling with all of the people he works with this month and last time they all went to the races together,next time they're all going go karting for the day.
Takes his littlest brother,our DS14 and autistic to play football sometimes just them,sometimes them and our DS17 and sometimes all of them and all of our oldest 2DS friends as well.
Lets his little sisters rag him,they treat him like a dolly sometimes and he lets them bless him.
Listens to music.
Spends time with us(me and DH)watching movies.

DS17 goes to the gym 3 times a week with his Dad.
Goes biking with friends and fishing.
Goes to party's.
Hangs out with friends.
Goes to friends houses.
Stay's over at friends houses/we have his friends stay here as well.
Has his friends round ours.
Goes into town with his big brother for lunch,clothes shopping and cinema.
Goes into town with friends to the cinema and for lunch.
Goes swimming with his friends/with us.
Comes on days out with us.
Listens to music.
Watches movies with us.
He plays with his littlest sister alot when he's at home,our DD8,she's autistic and they adore each other and he is amazing with her.
He does sparing with his little brother DS14.

DS14 is more of a home bird.
But he goes to the gym 1-2 times a week with friends from school.
Plays football with his big brother/brothers.
Does sparring with his big brother DS17.
Goes into town quite a bit now with his 2 big brothers(just a lads day)they're treat and they take him to the cinema,out for lunch and they buy him a few bits as well.
He has sleepovers.
Goes to friends houses after school.
Goes on days out with us.
Comes swimming with us.
Goes bmxing with his big brothers.
Plays music.
Goes online.
Plays the x-box but at most it's about an hour a day.

They're always busy doing something nice and were very lucky that they're all so close,DS19 and DS17 are best friends and they both dote on they're little brother and little sisters,I just wish I had they're energy.

Clobbered, I would imagine most teens would find that lot dull :/

One of mine is spray-painting his bicycle tonight. He's been using a mask, and head-torch and I hope the inside of the garage is still its original colour. Also I have some fetchingly decorated parts of the lawn.

Two different sports, loves listening to music and reading about his favourite singers. He does do gaming and if he really has nowhere else to be he can sometimes get bogged down in it, time goes so fast when he's on it that he can be in for s few hours. He doesn't watch much TV though.

No-one has mentioned wanking.

Mine spends all her time glued to her mobile it drives me mad.
Does go out with friends but they all just sit together tapping away on their screens.

My DS1 (year 10, 14) is into gaming exactly as the OP describes. It is literally all he does. He is not sporty, he would not be interested in going for a walk for pleasure. He plays a musical instrument - has a lesson each week, and does orchestra and G5 music theory at school, but aside from that gaming is all.

He plays stuff that is very strategic and interactive and talks to other people a lot while playing - he has quite a wide circle of like minded (geeky) friends who do exactly the same.

He is sweet and funny, chatty at mealtimes and (mostly) nice to his younger siblings. Not moody or stroppy at all; does his homework unprompted. So I find it hard to make an argument to limit the gaming.....it's his way of relaxing in his spare time.

I think the generation gap between 'us' and the teens is bigger than it has ever been, due to technology advancements.

Dd 18
Playing ps4, talking, going to theatre, talking, working at sn playscheme/some respite care , talking, shopping, talking and homework., watching tv and talking about it.
Ds 20 and at uni but he likes watching films, kayaking, cooking, playing games , lifeguarding.

MY DS(17) spends hours online gaming with his friends. They don't smoke, drink or use drugs so I've no complaints

Clobbered
Owning a games console doesnt lead to dull lives. My ds loves the outdoors. He walked to my mums in norfolk with 2 mates. That was 78 miles in 3 days and my DM had 3 very smelly teens turn up on the doorstep. They also walked the 40 miles to Cambridge. We found the asleep on a bench on the outskirts.

dd2 (14)...
Football training
Football matches (Sept - April)
Cricket training
Cricket Matches (April - Sept)
Explorers - weekly meeting + Young Leader Training about 1x term + camps (7 or 8 a year)
Young Leader at Cubs
Piano Lesson
Church
Various afterschool stuff which seems to be a bit seasonal - rounders, basketball, football, photography/film making

• watching stuff on you tube

• occasionally been seen to do some homework

• going round to friends houses, or occasionally into town or to ice-skating or swimming or something with friends

dd1 (17)....
(Just given up both flute lesson + piano lesson as finding 6th form/A-levels quite hard)
Rock-climbing - indoors weekly in Winter, for weekends or long days during the Summer
Explorers - see above
Young Leader at Beavers
Duke of Edinbugh and Queens Scout Awards
Church
Taught herself guitar
Plays piano - just for pleasure but usually about 15mins every day
Driving lessons
Works as a lifeguard
Has a (relatively short stint, but weekly commitment) babysitting job

ds (19) - is away at University so I don't know all the details no doubt
Goes to the gym
Weekly 5-a-side football league
Cooks a lot
Has a lifeguard job
Goes to a worship group
Helps at a Scout Group
Plays FIFA
Girlfriend takes up quite a bit of time too
when at home helps at lots of Scout camps / activities too.

How times have changed. As a teen I mostly smoked, snogged, gossiped, listened to loud music, got annoyed by my parents and life in general, tried to procure alcohol and slept as much as possible with a bit of light TV watching thrown in.

hair
going out with mates
talking to mates
messaging mates
messaging her boyfriend
singing
arguing with me
homework
revision
watching Putlocker
watching Youtube videos

I have tried so hard to get DD involved in activities outside the house but she is just not interested. She hates sport, doesn't like drama, left Guides because the guide leader was rubbish and has no interest in joining Explorers or any other youth organisation, so I just let her get on with it.

Notso snap. At about this time on a Friday night at the age of 15 I would have been found dancing on a table in a nightclub.

So i

Putting on makeup and taking selfies.

I'm not sure whether that's better or worse than what Sparkling was up to in GCSE year

It's a good job there were no selfies back then Darvany I would have been all over that.

Sometimes DD has thoughts. Judging by what she puts on Facebook they go something like this:

We have PS4 and a number of games supposedly interested in, but my teenage spends most of the time out at drama clubs, playing the piano and doing yoga. He does watch TV and use social media on his iPod, so is vaguely normal. Very rarely does any gaming though. But I'm a mean mum and we only have one TV, so there has to be consensus before the kids can negotiate a slot on the PS4...

I would have too. I used to spend time shading my nose down with black eyeliner then illuminating it in candlelight in a three-wing mirror to see what I'd look like with rhinoplasty. During my A' Levels no less.

Selfies and filters are the same thing...

I forgot, we've recently added painting nails and dyeing hair...

clobbered just curious why you think playing shooting games on the computer is acceptable but owning a games console isn't?
To me there is no difference it's still a computer game.

People who say video games make their child anti social I disagree. My son struggles to fit in at school and had no friends. Gaming online (obv I monitor) has made him more confident, he plays games with others online working towards defeating the boss or creating something together and now can easily connect with his friends after school through gaming.

I'm not saying he goes on it all day but I think it really helped him