Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Teens are being banned from bowling alleys, skating rinks, malls, and theme parks - no wonder they’re on their phones all day
NY Post ^ | 6/10/26 | Rikki Schlott

Posted on 06/10/2026 5:57:25 PM PDT by Libloather

The world seems intent on locking Gen Z down.

As children, they were given smartphones and iPads which taught them to see the world through a screen, rather than with their own eyes. As tweens and teens, their schools were shut down, sending them into the solitude of Zoom classes in their bedrooms.

And now they’re being shut out of communal spaces.

In Albany, unaccompanied teens are getting categorically banned from bowling alleys, roller skating rinks, and even grocery stores — sending them onto the streets or back to their screens for entertainment.

“Our culture keeps complaining about kids addicted to their phones,” Lenore Skenazy, president of kid-focused non-profit Let Grow and author of “Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry” told The Post.

“But when they are not allowed any place where they can meet up in real life, old-school, they turn to the escape hatch provided by [ex Apple CEO] Steve Jobs.”

She’s right.

It’s hard to imagine more wholesome settings than bowling alleys and roller skating rinks. But the Times Union reported that business owners think teens are disruptive and noisy, and say they’re more likely to get into fights or shoplift.

According to the paper, “signs are going up at many stores” saying no teens allowed without parents.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; History; Local News
KEYWORDS: malls; parks; phones; racism; teens
Message from Jim Robinson:

Dear FRiends,

We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.

If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:

Click here: to donate by Credit Card

Or here: to donate by PayPal

Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794

Thank you very much and God bless you,

Jim


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last
Sign of the times. What would happen if phones couldn't be charged for a week? Mayhem.
1 posted on 06/10/2026 5:57:25 PM PDT by Libloather
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Libloather

It’s one particular demographic that’s causing this problem.

Can anyone guess what it is?

L


2 posted on 06/10/2026 5:59:28 PM PDT by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

We know what they mean by “teens”.


3 posted on 06/10/2026 5:59:49 PM PDT by Flavious_Maximus (Tony Fauci will be put on death row and die of COVID!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Banned because of energetic activity in those places.


4 posted on 06/10/2026 6:03:10 PM PDT by SkyDancer ( ~ Am Yisrael Chai ~)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

> they’re being shut out of communal spaces.

Theft, fighting, assaults and rioting have consequences.


5 posted on 06/10/2026 6:04:26 PM PDT by ArcadeQuarters (You can't remove RINOs by voting for them!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

They were allowed free range and they turned it into mass theft of malls and jewelry stores.....................


6 posted on 06/10/2026 6:06:59 PM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Lurker

It would be illegal to target that specific demographic, so the arenas are banning all people in the identified age range.

Welcome to the lawfare republic of the United States.


7 posted on 06/10/2026 6:07:29 PM PDT by MortMan (How deep do you have to plant birdseed?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Kids have been on their phones for over a decade. The bannings are the result of a subset not being able to behave in a civilized manner.


8 posted on 06/10/2026 6:09:52 PM PDT by ConservaTexan (February 6, 1911/June 14, 1944)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Teens, or “teens?”


9 posted on 06/10/2026 6:11:47 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (If it ain't fun, you ain't doin' it right.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Blame it on the young who have ruined it for all of them due to criminal behavior. We were rowdy when I was a kid, but we never tore things up.

CC


10 posted on 06/10/2026 6:13:28 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Yutes”

CC


11 posted on 06/10/2026 6:14:41 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Celtic Conservative
These are "yutes."


12 posted on 06/10/2026 6:19:12 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (If it ain't fun, you ain't doin' it right.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

They would never go to a public library or a museum or doing volunteer work of some kind.

The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (the one the Beatles and Donovan liked_ planned a nationwide program of building recreational buildings and outdoor asphalt paved basketball courts and various sport equipment, art supplies, music studios and other places for young people to go after school got out. It made it to a certain extent.

When the Maharishi laid out his plan to his aides, one said: “This is going to cost us a lot of money. Where is all the money going to come from?”
Maharishi: “From wherever it is now.”


13 posted on 06/10/2026 6:19:53 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ArcadeQuarters
Theft, fighting, assaults and rioting have consequences.

Except all teens are punished because black "teens" (mostly males, 12-28 years old) can't behave themselves.

14 posted on 06/10/2026 6:20:19 PM PDT by Drew68
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: E. Pluribus Unum

“Amish Yutes”.

CC


15 posted on 06/10/2026 6:21:25 PM PDT by Celtic Conservative (Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: Libloather
Can't imagine why...


16 posted on 06/10/2026 6:23:38 PM PDT by Dan Zachary
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Red Badger
They were allowed free range and they turned it into mass theft of malls and jewelry stores...

I remember those news stories of juvenile offenders stealing and then shooting in all directions as terrified normal families couched and ran for their lives, trying to cover their young children.

I love malls and really hate to see the scumbags ruin what's left of them. Selfish.

17 posted on 06/10/2026 6:27:08 PM PDT by frank ballenger (There's a battle outside and it's raging. It'll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Celtic Conservative

Brooklyn yutes.


18 posted on 06/10/2026 6:28:13 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (If it ain't fun, you ain't doin' it right.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Libloather

Some people socialize their dogs better than their kids.


19 posted on 06/10/2026 6:31:23 PM PDT by virgil (The evil that men do lives after them )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Libloather
Adding to the problem is how bowling alleys are being closed around the nation; targeted by developers for their commercial locations combined with floor space. Once bought they're gutted to convert them into warehouses or strip mall type use or torn out altogether to build vertical housing.

Meanwhile movie theaters continue to struggle as well, striving to compete with the 'home theater experience' now attainable with modest budgets.

Roller skating? Considered "uncool" and passe', their parent's idea of a good time when they were young.

There's skateboard parks few and far between because of lawsuits brought despite clear signage. The lawyers are also killing common playgrounds.

Hell must be a very full place.

20 posted on 06/10/2026 6:32:10 PM PDT by MikelTackNailer (got to an age where he hates being right.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-46 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson