Do things with them - not “go out side I want to use the computer” but actual activities involving you working hard - and not just the things you like. Kids playing Minecraft? Go visit an actual mine. Kids like racing games? Go to a racetrack or a monster truck rally. Rent a bobcat if you have land to use it on.

And "outside" could actually mean in the living room or garage, building things, too. I learned a lot of things just watching my dad repair houses and handing him tools. He just needed to get it done to get on to having fun, and didn't think to include me in the actual work most of the time unless he thought it'd speed things up, but I still learned quite a lot from it.

It could also mean art or music.

And finally... It could still be on the computer, making digital art, video games, writing novels, etc, instead of just playing games and chatting. Learning to create the experiences is hard, but the reward for having created them is pretty compelling and the skill carries across different softwares pretty easily, setting them up with those skills for life.

I try to do all of these as much as possible. Hiking, mountainbiking, go-cart, or even airsoft. They like all of that, but the allure of things like minecraft or fortnite is still very strong.

But maybe that is normal. After all it took myself decades to figure out life so much that now I enjoy real life. Was just hoping there might be a shortcut.

You misunderstand.

Of course they're addicted to screens, like all kids these days.

It's just that they want a quick and easy fix, and certainly not to wear one around their heads.

Addictive screen technology has no "wow" factor for people that had them from birth. Screens are about as exciting and cool as daytime television was in the pre-Internet era. (And similarly, we somehow can't stop wasting hours a day on them still.)