Kids and electric scooters

Until not so long time ago, if you were a child who wanted to move yourself on wheels, one of the obvious and sometimes only choice was the bicycle. Some never ride a bike again once they grow up, but many will use it as a medium of transportation, some as a way to work out, to explore the outdoors, and even travel the world.

The electric scooter has been taking the place of the bicycle. This device can get to considerable speeds with the push of a button while you stand up on a floorboard. I must say it has one of the most stupid form factors, being less rigid than other two-wheeled vehicles and having terrible handling and turning angle.

Despite it can be fun and practical—I’ve ridden and had fun with it a few times—it is more like a toy. It won’t take you longer distances, the small wheels struggle even within town, the body is not very extensible and it lacks balance and solidity for more intense applications.

There’s a lot of overlap between electric scooters and bicycles, especially on the subject of urban mobility. It’s still debatable though whether they are sustainable and reliable in the long term, due to their reliance on lithium batteries and possibly worse maintainability due to lack of a mature ecosystem for parts and service.

One thing in particular that got me slightly concerned when I thought about it, is that some kids could skip the bike completely for the electric scooter. They could then grow up to become sedentary adults who drive a car, or even worse, a motor scooter, which is the most ridiculous kind of two-wheeled motor vehicle.

As someone who was introduced to a bike when younger, and had it unfold into this ever-fascinating thing that provided me with such rich and unique experiences, I feel somehow sorry when I see young folks standing up on a flat board moving around with the push of a button.