Similar to Tom, I believe in trying to teach self worth and satisfaction through work, learning and practicing. It has to be results based … as in hard work = desired results. But yes, it's the way those results are achieved which results in the satisfaction that hopefully would keep them coming back for more. My wife and I try. Our kids play instruments, do sports and my 13 year old is on the second year of his lawn mowing job. He pushes the lawn mower 2 blocks down the street each week to cut grass. His motivation is of course …. money. But at least he has to work for it. We make them practice their instruments for school and they do notice they are better at it, same with sports. But in the end, even with proven results, they just want to go back to the internet. There is a commercial currently running for Charter communications. The families internet goes out and the just don't know what to do with themselves. It shows them feeling like they are missing out on something. It shows one playing an instrument poorly while the family looks on as if unimpressed and bored. A coworker brought it up the other day and thought it was really funny. They blatantly say "you can't live without the internet" and people laugh it off and think it's funny for some reason even though it is true that they can't figure out what to do without it. They somehow don't see how it is dumbing them down. It's interesting when we take away the kids electronics which we do from time to time for a week. At first, they have no clue what to do with themselves but over time they go back to actually "doing" things and creating things. Then the computer comes back and poof, nothing gets done.
It is an uphill battle. We tell them that too much internet and technology is not good for you (which it isn't), and then the schools give them their own chrome books because the people at the schools are afraid they are doing wrong by not giving it to them. They're old and out of touch if they don't. The kids won't survive in the tech world without it. The kids today are guinea pigs, lab rats if you will and it will be years before we know what, if any, damage has been done. The best, tried and true way, would be to not allow the internet in your home or their lives at all so they can learn without it. But do that and your put in the same group as the non-vaccination folks and seen as weird and out of touch. They just don't seem to get the same satisfaction when compared to tech. And considering the adults are the same way, if not worse, it's all the more hard to handle. With VR coming out, I predict it will only get worse.