Teens are being banned from bowling alleys, skating rinks, malls, and theme parks no wonder theyre on their phones all day

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.Bans in Albany have also popped up in bookstores, at fast food joints, and at the Six Flags Great Escape amusement park in Queensbury, New York — a former favorite of Albany teens which enforces a strict chaperone policy.A 17-year-old who wants to go spend a summer day at an amusement park with friends isn’t able to, even if it’s a wholesome way to spend time with their pals.

At some locations, older siblings don’t even count.And these policies stand to disproportionately impact children of working parents.It’s not just Albany.

The same thing happened at Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal Mall, which banned teens without an adult in 2024 after fig...