No Child in the Woods

I'm doing my honors thesis research on the topic of Nature-deficit disorder in children. Richard Louv made this idea well known with his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods, however though the naming is new the concept is not. In 2003, Crain published Reclaiming Childhood, which essentially discusses the same topic. Additionally, Reed's The Necessity of Experience published in 1996 is a broad spectrum work that encompasses the importance of direct interaction. According to Reed, our experience of the world has become impoverished. Children are no longer experiencing nature directly, but most often through the telivison or internet. This creates a profound shift in society. What can we say about "our" experience, when it is an identical "experience" to that which millions of other people are having? Is seeing a nature video a mediocre substitute, a fairly good substitute or simply a horrible substitute? Is it even similar enough to the actual experience to count as an "experience"? This is a profound philosophical question that I did not even have time to delve into in much detail in my thesis. Although complex to consider it has immense implications in our current society. This is an important issue that deserves more consideration than it has recieved.