AS a youngster I genuinely don't recall spending much time indoors. I could variously be found building go-karts and ramshackle dens, getting rope burn from tree swings or curating my "museum" of fossils at the bottom of the garden.

Many an hour was spent on my bike, pedalling through the nearby woods with my beloved insect collection strapped to the back and a carrier bag containing fish paste sandwiches and diluting orange juice slung over the handlebars (the 1980s childhood equivalent of potted meat and lashings of ginger beer).

I was rarely in front of a television, typically only on weekend afternoons to watch The Dukes of Hazzard or the A-Team. When the Why Don't You? gang urged us all to Just Switch Off Your Television Set and Go Out and Do Something Less Boring Instead I took heed of their sage advice.

The only times I remember being indoors for prolonged periods – aside from school or sleeping – was at either a swimming pool or gymnastics hall.

Which is why new research that found youngsters will spend an average of 14 hours and 41 minutes a week in front of a screen over the summer holidays – more than they will spend outside playing – is so disheartening.

Traditional outdoor activities such as climbing trees, making daisy chains and flying kites could soon go the way of the Dodo as children spend increasing amounts of time glued to computers, hand-held tablets, smart phones and televisions.

The study of 2,000 British parents showed that many admitted they often feel guilty about the amount of time their children spend in front of a screen and worry it is having a negative impact on the imagination and social skills of their offspring.

I have one friend who regularly frets that while her seven-year-old son has an astute knowledge of the inner workings and gadgetry of mobile phones that far outstrips her own, he has never camped in the back garden – a summer rite of passage of our childhoods.

Another acquaintance told me that her young niece and nephew recently stood baffled and awe-struck on the shores of Loch Lomond while her husband – their uncle – skimmed stones.

It was the first time they had witnessed the mesmerising sight of a smooth pebble skipping seamlessly across the water, never mind fishing for minnows with an empty jam jar tied to a piece of string.

That, for me, is a damning indictment of modern society. If children lose their sense of adventure – and I don't mean that which comes from the fictional worlds existing inside video games – it is too grave and frightening a prospect to contemplate.

Not only do young people need to play outdoors in order to be more physically active (it is all very well blaming sugar-laden foods for being the root of all evil when a sedentary lifestyle is arguably every bit as dangerous), but it is also vital in order to stoke imagination, enhance social development and build knowledge. Not to mention providing that much needed dose of Vitamin D.

Adults need to lead by example. I would be the first to agree that the trappings of 21st-century life are far better geared towards sofa slobbing than striding through the Scottish countryside. A box set marathon all too often wins out over an actual marathon (or even a mere 5K).

Still, the mind boggles at those who shell out a small fortune for kids to blow off steam in indoor soft play areas when outside is free and infinitely more fun.

Not that I'm dictating how anyone should raise their child. I do fully appreciate the concerns and reticence surrounding youngsters playing outdoors.

Of course, there is a fear factor. It is understandable that many parents and caregivers live in dread of being the ones – when a child is hurt or goes missing – that everyone tuts and shakes their heads at while disapprovingly murmuring: "What were they thinking?"

Yet, equally, there is something intrinsically sad about everything that many of today's children will miss out on – experiences that will build character, confidence and independence.

These are activities that will stand them in good stead in future life, such as learning how to read a map and use a compass without "dropping a pin" on Google maps on their mobile phone.

They need to jump in puddles, make mud pies, roll down a big hill, collect frogspawn and eat wild berries.

Ditto digging for buried treasure on a beach, cooking over a campfire, planting seeds in the garden, being able to identify different bird species and building a tree house. A life wrapped in cotton wool is not a life worth living.