About this episode
When she was 12 years old, Ava Smithing spiralled down a social media rabbit hole that nearly cost her life. A decade later, she discovered she wasn't alone: Big Tech had hijacked childhood and adolescence for an entire generation. In this ten-part investigative podcast, Ava crosses the continent to uncover a hidden digital world. She'll meet teens with millions of followers, young girls wrestling with compulsive porn use, and boys blackmailed by international cybercriminals lurking in their DMs. In the first episode of Left to Their Own Devices, Ava dives into the debate over technology addiction. The condition is absent from the official list of mental health disorders used by psychiatrists, but undeniable to those who live it. Inside an Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous meeting, she hears firsthand from people who say their lives have been consumed by screens. And, she sits down with psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke – author of Dopamine Nation – who's watched her patient' struggles shift from substance abuse to compulsive relationships with social media, gaming, and online content. This podcast isn't a self-help guide to digital wellness. It's a survival story from the front lines of 21st century childhood.