Technology on the whole is a net improvement on society. So many things are better and more convenient because of it.

The issue at the heart of everything has always been education. Properly implemented, the parental controls of iOS or Android can be used to limit and gradually introduce trust in digital platforms. Even without these kids are smarter than we think; they’d rather meet in real life than just on socials.

The issue is actually the generation that grew up with no digital education, the parents of today’s kids. Not only do they poorly understand the parental controls of their platforms (not entirely their fault) but they (we!) sit on public transport, disengaged from strangers we might otherwise talk to, ignorant of their small child eager for engagement that isn’t social media and happy to give a kid a tablet rather than entertain them themselves.

We say a childhood without phones is a blessing but what kids need first is parents without them!