I'd much rather live in a cool abandoned house or junkyard or shack in the woods than in a sterile room with a television where I wasn't allowed to touch anything.
Shack in the woods: I've heard that Amish children are quite happy. Not sure about older adolescents.
Growing up in a sterile suburban setting has serious downsides. My sister and I both grew feeling not "real" somehow. Thank goodness we both somehow escaped the flypaper of 80's Rap!