Fewer young people visiting national parks
National parks are seeing a decrease in attendance and it may, in part, be caused by the rise of technology, said Christopher Gezon, acting chief of interpretation for Zion National Park.
“I think the way people visit a place has changed. There are people out there that if they see a picture online it’s like, ‘Okay, well that’s what it looks like. I don’t need to go now,'” Gezon said. “If they go to Google Earth and stand on Angel’s Landing, then they think they know what it looks like.”
He said he sees this particular response most often in the nation’s youth.
“I think that the younger generation – because of their access and their inherent comfort with technology – seek out those alternatives rather than spend a thousand dollars to hop in a plane, fly across the country, and experience the Grand Canyon personally,” Gezon said. “They are comfortable visiting these places digitally.”
Studies have shown that youth visitor numbers have gone down. A survey of visitorship at Zion National Park, conducted in 2006 by the University of Idaho, showed that the park’s visitors between the ages of 16 and 36 make up 22 percent of total summer attendance. In contrast, 44 percent of visitors were between the ages of 36 and 56.
Laurel Mallonee, a senior studying social work, said she feels bad for people who choose digital outdoors over the real thing.
“They’re missing the whole point of it,” Mallonee said. “Nature isn’t just looking at stuff. It’s about being in it – feeling it almost. It’s a combination of everything: smelling the trees, feeling the sun on your face, and hearing the wind and birds. It appeals to every sense. It’s not just a visual thing.”
Damon Andreasen, a licensed clinical social worker and Cache Valley resident, also believes technology is to blame for the low numbers. He said the sense of entitlement the younger generations are developing is caused by the immediate access technology provides.
“The instant gratification that we have now – we can instantly get information, we can instantly get things, we can instantly get food – makes it difficult for kids to enjoy the outside because there isn’t any immediate stimulation,” Andreasen said. “Outdoors, you have to work to have fun.”
Young people aren’t the only citizens choosing other destinations to spend their vacation time. The National Park Service’s most recent statistical abstract showed visits to U.S. national parks decreased 1.5 percent from 2009 to 2010. Over the same period, visits to parks in Utah increased 2.5 percent overall, but visits to Zion decreased 2.5 percent. Gezon said he is worried this is an indication of an overall declining interest in the nation’s population.
“It’s something we talk about internally quite a bit. If no one cares, then these places will disappear. They will not exist without strong support and a commitment from the population,” Gezon said. “It’s a uniquely American idea, and is something that will disappear without support.”
Andreasen said the loss of national parks would be detrimental to society. Natural environments help balance out the negative side effects of technology.
“They’ve found quite a connection in research (between) the increase of ADHD and the lack of getting outside and into nature,” Andreasen said. “It’s (from) being outside that kids learn. If you want to see the view, you have to hike to the top. If you want to be warm, you have to build the campfire. You want to actually get out and experience those things.”
He said the nation’s decline in outdoor involvement is already manifesting itself in the health of U.S. residents.
“Increases like children’s diabetes, the general problems with obesity and just lack of health.
We’re also seeing an increase in depression and anxiety,” Andreasen said. “There sure seems to be a high correlation between the lack of being outside, in nature, and the increase of these things.”
Mallonee, who works with children, said it concerns her when she sees an individual discard physical activity, outside involvement, and social experience to embrace a digital lifestyle.
“They are not living in the real world. Sometimes technology is comforting. It’s a safe place to go to distract yourself from other things,” Mallonee said. “But I think if you (engage in technology) too much, you lose touch with other stuff.”
Andreasen has sometimes noticed a lack of initiative in the rising generation that he believes is connected to technological interference.
“What I’ve seen working with youth and college students is that they aren’t very goal-oriented anymore,” Andreasen said. “It’s that lack of connection – we expect great paying jobs without effort, we expect things given to us with no work involved.”
To avoid this with his own children, Andreasen said he monitors how much time his family spends using electronic devices.
“Our family is limited on the days we are allowed to get on those systems, outside of work. We don’t have cable television or satellite and we only watch movies as a family,” Andreasen said.
Comparing his children to friends who don’t have these restrictions, Andreasen said he’s already seen a difference.
“There’s a lot more physical coordination. My kids are involved in more community sports and athletics,” Andreasen said. “They aren’t only playing soccer; their imagination seems a little better. They don’t have to have their video games to have fun.”
David Miller, the support services supervisor for the Uintah-Cache National Forest Service, said although national attendance is dropping, to his knowledge, numbers of visitors in the local ranger district haven’t changed. He said he isn’t worried about the local Forest Service losing funding.
“Numbers are something I have to keep track of for my job,” Miller said. “And for every car that stops, there’s probably 10 more that don’t.”
– brianna.b@aggiemail.usu.edu