The world is changing quickly – with AI, social media, and more – and we all have to adapt.
But as usual, young people are a bellwether for what is to come. Newly published research is showing the increased role of screens in the lives of post-secondary students. A Canadian study published in July found that the proportion of post-secondary students meeting recommended recreational screen-time guidelines (of less than 3 hours per day) fell from 43.5% in 2019 to just 34.3% in 2025.
This is only one of many studies showing the same thing. Young people, such as our WWOOFers, are spending more time on devices and less time outdoors “touching grass”.
That won’t be a surprise to anyone. We all can feel it, even if we’ve never actually seen data to show it’s true.
Does this present new challenges for hosts as they adapt to the norms and aptitudes of this new generation? Certainly.
But it also makes these WWOOF exchanges, and this community, all the more special and vital. WWOOF offers something increasingly difficult to find in everyday life: the opportunity to step away from your screen, get outdoors and get closer to the natural world.
For this reason, I don’t think it is hyperbole to say that, with the way the world is going, WWOOF has never been more important than it is today.
What is your relationship to screens? Have you found your screen time has increased?
Best regards,
Robin Young, Executive Director