We all know one: an inquisitive, bright-eyed ten-year-old who used to love stickers or novels and was always zooming around on her scooter. But she’s changed in the last few years. It started some time after the now-ubiquitous rite of passage, the iPhone unwrapped on her 11th birthday. Yes, with parental controls, but still stuffed with the most addictive, toxic, disturbing and pointless media known to man.
She became glued to her phone, obsessed with selfies, always browsing, “liking”, judging, fingers twitching with the tap-tap-tap of constant messages. The associated behaviour — the anxiety, stress, mood swings, perfectionism, depression — became part of everyday life. She had friends for whom it developed into an eating disorder, “gender dysphoria”, panic attacks and self-harm.
Now I’m sure
