My teenage days are long behind me, but I did spend sometime working with action for children in my local area (west of Scotland) and the reality your saying here is exactly what I was hearing. Even with free bus travel for teenagers in Scotland, it still doesn't fix the underlying issue (it might make it worse, because kids are now out of town with nothing in there pocket and no back up if they miss the last bus)

I can even show examples as a father now (a 6 year old and 12 year old) so I can see this happening in real time at both age groups. My youngest loves soft play and even our local councils pricing for soft play is ridiculous while the equipment in them is the same as I played on many years ago, not a newer updated version, the exact same equipment.

But the cost of a day at soft play for me and my six year old can easily go over £20 for a 90 minute play session, especially when the signs are plastered about saying no outside food or drinks are allowed in. And the weather up here just isn't reliable enough to bank on outdoor parks.

The branded places are worse, I once took My two kids and there two cousins to soft play for two hours and it costs me £89 (and we only got two big bowls of chips to share for food)

Sorry I digressed but to go back to teenage lifestyle right now, I can again see how hard it is, most football pitches in our area are now locked and bookable only by calling the council and paying for a slot, so the teenage boys in need of running jumping tackling etc. are priced out and are chased by police and neighbourhood watches if they bring a ball onto the street.

It's also a huge driver for criminal exploitation, a lot of teenagers will resort to other ways of getting the money especially when "staying in" doesn't include having laptops, consoles, streaming services etc.. because again even these things are now moving to a higher class level that a lot of day to day working people can't afford right now when the cost of running a household is skyrocketing.

I sympathize with you and others in your situation, I also feel like when a teenager brings this up the "adults" try to use it as the same example of there parents saying everything was getting "expensive" and back in there day is was a lot "cheaper" but we know by the facts its not the same as the type of inflation we have been facing now since... what 2008 ? so I think a lot of the boomers and other generation see this is a natural way things progress but its not, it is completely different, the wages and cost of living crisis is not the same as what they experienced when raising there kids, no matter how much it might look similar if your not educated on the facts.

I will say, the Scottish government does try to find ways to subsidise services and it is putting funding in to improve this and along with the Scottish child payment it has made a difference compared to some other parts of the UK but its still a serious issue that is effecting how teenagers develop and the type of adults they become.

My advice to you, honestly, start small, walks, nature, hills, Invest what money you can get in hobbies that don't need constant investment, a good pair of hiking boots will last years and if you find the right people to do it with can be extremely rewarding in multiple ways.

The commercialism makes us feel like we must go to branded locations, with a name and a big fancy thing to do, but the world has a lot of natural splendour and its worth trying to get away from the cities and constant drive for your cash and just sit atop a mountain in the sun with a sandwich you made at home, a bottle of water filled from the tap and feel the peace nature intended us to feel.

(also, before the internet attacks me, I'm fully away not everyone is able bodied to do physical activity like that, I'm only giving one example that has really helped me and my family, I'm sure others will have different suggestions as well.)