Among the plethora of 'New Age' disorders - and at a time where everything short of death is systematically being labeled as something - this one I am compelled to acknowledge.

In plain-speak, it simply means children and teens no longer interacting with nature - rather spending their childhood and adolescence 'indoors'. And when they are 'outdoors' it is usually to engage in some kind of 'organized play' be it a sport or a 'supervised' gathering at a local park.

Technology is of course blamed by default... the vast array of distractions offered by televisions and mobile phones and computers and gaming consoles - hand-held or otherwise. I remember when these consoles began to appear... I distinctly remember thinking them as a 'mother's best helper'. Kind of like an invisible baby-sitter - paid for once, updated once in a while but then largely relied on without further need to 'worry about' whether the children were being looked after? The children were relatively quiet, largely well-behaved within the home or in external social outings and overall, much 'easier' to handle?

I also remember thinking at the time... "We are fucked". Forget stranger danger and increased road traffic and drugs and alcohol and teenage pregnancy fears. This one terrified me in previously unimagined ways. This one had the capacity to change the world as I knew it irrevocably.

As toddlers, my sons had their own playroom, filled with all manner of toys and books and without a TV. They also - thanks to my father's skill - had a cubbyhouse complete with slide and a sand-pit. Our backyard was fairly large and they could kick a ball around or over the warmer months, enjoy the pop-up pool.

But then my boys grew and of course 'longed' for these devices, "Mum every other kid has them!" So I introduced them into our home. I hated them, I hated the fact they both stopped playing with toys and reading books and expanding their imagination... But I was conflicted see - my philosophy at play here in not making them adhere to my own belief system... much as I never introduced 'veganism' into their diet.

So we ended up with all sorts of 'devices'. Where they once played outside in the relative safety of our 'court', they began spending more and more time attached to these devices. I tried. Bought them scooters and go-carts and bikes... but the lure of those other things... I understood how far greater their influence was than my meager efforts.

As they grew older still, their focus gradually shifted from devices to 'online games'. They joined the generation scoffing at consoles and reveling in the highly interactive world of first person shooter games... I abhor these too, not only for the violence and de-sensitization and sure the whole 'man-cave' thing they have going on - but at least over the internet, they converse, they banter, they form friendships and groups of like-minded others and - my youngest is destined for the stock-market, I assure you. His trading skills are phenomenal!

There has been a measure of counter-balance in my sons' lives however... Our move down to the coast - largely decided upon for this fear alone - exposed them to a seaside lifestyle where the 'great outdoors' was there, a few steps away in any direction. We lived where other people 'took time out' or spent their annual 'vacations'. The beach, the ocean, the hills, everything within walking distance or a short drive away... plenty there to lure them outside, and certainly, they were lured.

So despite their affinity with technology, they have largely grown with a balanced perspective. They love their 'gaming' but they also love the outdoors and have been infected with my lust for discovering new places, new environments, and new adventures. Our holidays to other places inevitably include a fair amount of time traipsing through 'bush' in search of waterfalls or climbing rocky outcrops or doing those dreaded (by me) coastal cliff walks...

City kids have not fared so well: Diminishing back yards as lots are subdivided; the spawning of apartment-living; the always rushed and tired parents not only working long hours but then ferrying their charges to 'organized' extra-curricular activities; the reinforced messages of 'dangers out there' - these technological baby-sitters have been embraced and now dominate their home environments.

So of course this has given rise to 'issues'.The premise being that 'nature-deficit disorder' is more like an illness, with symptoms which might manifest into depression, hyperactivity, boredom and... loneliness? Of course also giving rise to obesity, as the food consumed far 'outweighs' the energy expanded through a largely sedentary lifestyle. I recall reading somewhere a study showing that the modern child's 'radius of activity' - that is, the distance from home kids are allowed to roam unsupervised - has declined by 90% since the 1970s?

I was a 70's kid. They could have saved themselves the shitloads of money they paid out to those men in white lab-coats and just asked me - or anyone else of my generation - for verification. We created fantasy and adventure and 'play' out of thin air - just our combined imaginations and some - 'rudimentary' by comparison - props. There was nothing to do indoors. Indoors meant boredom after the 'children's hour' was over on TV and the more mature content appeared - parents shooing us away, for fear of exposing us to news content and 'adult' material.  

Yes, we are screwed. We bought into the idea that children should be quiet and pacified, and safe, and well-behaved. We were lured by this 'gadget' babysitter's ability to control our children and keep them 'occupied' and safe as we in turn focused on growing and maintaining lifestyles affording this convenience? The true deficits won't be known for another generation at least... I see toddlers today, confined to courtyards with artificial 'lawns' and older children disappearing into rooms the minute they are home, there to 'connect' either to a game device or to a social media platform.

Back in the 'burbs' twelve months now, I have yet to see a child playing outside. I drive through empty and silent streets, not even the echoes of our gleeful screams and our laughter remaining... Sometimes I wonder if there are any children left - but then I spy the frantic after-school hour when children are released to awaiting cars, to be ferried briefly home then onwards to some form of supervised 'activity'. I see the four year olds in their karate kits and ballet skirts and the ten years olds in their footy uniforms and gymnastics outfits... all these shucked off an hour or so later and the children handed back to their respective age-related 'baby-sitters'.

Yes, we are seeing gradual effects some two decades later: A distorted reality where online is real and real life is 'boring' by comparison. Lives intertwined with technology, so much so it follows everywhere, and it instead of eyes captures moments to be stored in digital files proving that we were 'there' - even if for some few minutes... the time it took to tap out a couple of selfies.

The saddest part in all this? Understanding that even we - as adults - are being baby-sat... But that's a story for another time.