I think the trend to keep up with and compete with what seems to be the next big thing that everyone else is doing. This particularly happens when parents have the economic means. They enroll their children in tons of activities and over schedule them to everyone's exhaustion.
The need for children to learn something just for the fun of it has been replaced by the need to be the next great athlete, artist or celebrity.
This happens differently in poorer communities where parents don't have access to as many after school activities or have put their children in them to keep them safe and off the street. I see parents who bust their buts in these communities to get their children the latest video system so they can keep up, be competitive, give them a way out of their circumstances or just provide some happiness. This causes financial stress and worry that their children are spending too much time on videos. Again the need for safety and to know where they are also contributes to this.