The 15th most downloaded article in the Journal of Environmental Management (Oct-Dec 2006):
Is love of nature in the US becoming love of electronic media? 16-year downtrend in national park visits explained by watching movies, playing video games, internet use, and oil prices
Abstract
After 50 years of steady increase, per capita visits to US national parks have declined since 1988. This decline, coincident with the rise in electronic entertainment media, may represent a shift in recreation choices with broader implications for the value placed on biodiversity conservation and environmentally responsible behavior. We compared the decline in per capita visits with a set of indicators representing alternate recreation choices and constraints. The Spearman correlation analyses found this decline in NPV to be significantly negatively correlated with several electronic entertainment indicators .... Multiple linear regression of four of the entertainment media variables as well as oil prices explains 97.5% of this recent decline ... . We may be seeing evidence of a fundamental shift away from people's appreciation of nature (biophilia, Wilson 1984) to ‘videophilia,’ which we here define as “the new human tendency to focus on sedentary activities involving electronic media.” Such a shift would not bode well for the future of biodiversity conservation.
My favorite TV shows are 24, The Sopranos, CSI, Without a Trace, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and most anything sports related. And nature shows, I like nature shows.
