On Friday evening, just before I went to bed, the news came through that Jason Arday had died at the age of 41. I have to admit, the news affected me quite a bit. I did not know him personally, but barely a week earlier I had written a rather critical blog post about him.… Read More Of the dead, speak no ill?
It has almost become an accepted truth, with social media bans becoming increasingly popular among politicians. Young people spend more and more time on social media. Mental health appears to be declining. So one must be causing the other. Over the past few years, numerous studies have reported an association between heavier social media use… Read More Does Time on Social Media Predict Later Mental Health? A Five-Year Study Suggests Not
Yesterday, I came across this message (in French) on Twitter. Because the person who shared it isn’t named Éléonore, I assume she didn’t write it herself. So I went looking. Call it an obsession. I found the same message a few times, including on Facebook , but also a similar message from a certain Claire on Instagram:… Read More Synthetic Authenticity: Be Careful With AI Testimonials About Education…
I sometimes feel like I am repeating myself. But the effects of the smartphone ban debate in schools continue to make for interesting research. For instance, a new NBER working paper by Henry Saffer attempts to causally investigate, for the first time, the effects of school-wide smartphone bans in the United Statesfor the first time . Jonathan… Read More Smartphone bans and mental health: new study tempers major claims
I have been a fan of Louis Theroux for a long time, and of his brother as well. Since his early documentaries, he has had a rare way of working: friendly, almost naïve in appearance, yet remarkably persistent. He asks questions that sound simple, but are often difficult to avoid answering. So when his new… Read More Everyone Uses Everyone in the Manosphere
As we move towards the end of 2025, the pattern has become hard to ignore. Over the past twelve months, the same sequence has played out again and again. Concerns rise about young people’s mental health. Attention quickly turns to social media. And before long, a policy proposal appears that promises clarity and decisiveness: an… Read More The (Overly) Simple Story About Youth Mental Health
If you have ever used ChatGPT to understand a topic quickly, you may have noticed how efficient it feels. Within seconds, you get a clear, neatly packaged answer. It is often better written than what you would find through a random web search. However, according to new research from Wharton and New Mexico State University,… Read More When Learning Feels Too Easy: What AI Tools Like ChatGPT Might Be Doing to Our Thinking
A small scene in an ordinary household. A parent checks their daughter’s screen time and discovers she’s spent six hours in a single day chatting through an app with a friendly-looking icon — Polybuzz. What looks innocent enough turns out to be conversations with AI characters based on her favourite K-pop band. What follows is… Read More The Frictionless Friendship: What AI Companions Are Really Teaching Our Children
It sounds like something from a TV drama, but it’s a bitter reality in England – one I came across through this BBC article. The death of 23-year-old Cambridge graduate Paloma Shemirani has reignited a painful debate. She died from non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that is highly treatable with conventional medicine. Yet Paloma… Read More How do you protect children from parents who believe in conspiracy theories?