How Technology Settled the 'Jocks vs. Geeks' Debate Forever

Growing up, there were two types of kids in my school. First, you had the active kids—the students on the school teams, sure, but also boys and girls in the scouts, skateboarders and bikers, the kids who climbed trees, and the kids who just ran in circles until their mothers called them to come home for dinner.

The other kids? This was the dawn of personal electronics, when Ataris and Macintoshes first appeared in homes. A generation was growing up alongside these new technologies and took to them like water: playing video games, learning code, tinkering and taking apart and rebuilding (sometimes successfully).

It doesn’t matter what they were called—the jocks and the geeks, the athletes and the brains, the outdoor and the indoor kids—there always were two groups and they always were treated as opposites.

I work as a writer. You can guess where I fell on that divide.

Today, we wear electronic bracelets to monitor our heart rates and track our steps, record our diets on phone apps, and use computer programs to design the most mathematically efficient exercise routines. The idea of a split between technology and an active lifestyle has vanished.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the rise of wearable technology, which is predicted to be 2016’s biggest health trend, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Forbes reported that those fitness trackers and smartwatches—devices primarily used with athletics in mind—are expected to generate $14 billion in sales this year and up to $34 billion by 2020. Consumers are spending a lot on electronics that help their health.

There are strong ties between today’s personal electronics, physical fitness and active lifestyles that allow you to cross-market and capitalize.

We’d like to hear about your accomplishments in combining the worlds of technology, fitness and activity. If you have any success stories, send an email and let us know. Indoor kids need all the help they can get.