I suspect that most kids, like myself, will trade TV time for the computer. In fact, I watched so little TV for a while that when the ads for the movie Galaxy Quest came out, my initial reaction was "Wow, neat show! How did I miss that series?"
Computers can also be used to facilitate social interaction - just like here at IWETHEY. They also break down barriers between who you interact with - I know my mom was often surprised when one of my BBS friends would drop by and they'd be significantly older than her.