Well said. As a young kid, my entertainment consisted of my parents and the animated movies available to me. I am not saying I understood all the parts, all the intrigue the directors and animators and writers had put in, I have re-watched them and understand now, but that's not so say I would prefer something shallow. Those films taught me what the message in them was, and I have since carried that knowledge.
Any examples? I can't think of any movie in the past that really thought a good message for kids....
Anyway, one thing that can be attributed to this topic is that no, not every teen likes to read, but in the past, teens were less rebellious on a whole.
Since teens did not protest things they did not like (Like some kind of hipee or something) and had never been rebellious...
"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."
"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have
no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all
restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what passes
for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for girls, they are
forward, immodest and unwomanly in speech, behaviour and dress."
- Either Plato, Socrates, or made up by some random person in modern times, depending on who you believe.
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on
the frivolous youth of today, for certainly all youth are reckless
beyond words.
When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of
elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of
restraint.
--- Hesiod. From the Eighth century.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
There was work to be done, work which was not completed by sitting down. The old trades, such as fletchers, architects, builders, stonemasons, smiths, and weavers, all required the user to learn from a young age. The trade of sailing taught teens and young men to obey orders, and in turn be rewarded for doing so
So your angry that we got made child labor laws, then?
Now, with less things to occupy them, teens often waste their time being social, or unsocial, with the massive communication software and hardware that connects us, but also separates us.
How dare they! Spending time having fun with their friends. Back in my day, we had to walk to the next farm to see our friends. And it was uphill both ways, in the snow.