I just did quite a bit of traveling with my little kids stuck in the car for hours at a time. In the past I've spent time reading to them or doing other things, but this time I was lazy and let them stare at tablets. The experiment resulted in incredibly grouchy, high strung kids. Kids apparently really do need that unstructured time to tinker and move around.

consumption of someone else's imaginative creations

Very true, and depressing. I actually do get depressed when I get too caught up in it.