Smartphones and The Mental Health Of Children | Is Liz Truss Becoming 'Trumpian'? | Question Time

[@nigeh5326]

Rory so often to me comes across as a pre Thatcherite era one nation Conservative. He will never be a true left of centre person, but he frequently drifts over the centre line. Of all the tories we’ve seen since 2010 Rory is imo, (i’m a Labour Party member and lifetime Labour voter) one of the very best. I may not agree with him in many areas but in comparison to Truss, Johnson, Rees Mogg etc he does seem to genuinely want the best for Britain and the world.

[@benwilson6145]

He is a Tory

[@CrackaPackify]

​@@benwilson6145he's a throwback to the kind of Tory that could be negotiated with if something was in the best interests of the people of Britain - a bit of rational thought with the ideology. If your response to this is "He's a Tory" you're the same, just for the other side

[@dominicbritt]

FYI - having a career in IT I never wanted my kids to have smart phones when they went to high school - unfortunately schools mandated the use of phones by using homework apps and lessons using apps. I also think apps like TikTok and Instagram are hugely damaging for kids by diminishing their attention span… by serving up 15 second videos continuously for hours. Part of the damage I’m concerned about is American culture affecting children - when they watch TikTok for hours and have picked up damaging words like “woke”, Andrew Tate!!, mistrust of Police… bullying classmates… Children are not equipped to deal with this, and neither are most adults.

[@paulok2153]

Roblox seems like a potential cesspit as well

[@Chris-im3ys]

I completely agree, my son learned the word woke and now he's dead

[@paulok2153]

@@Chris-im3ys sorry for your loss

[@xemorr]

I don't think that mandates the use of phones - it mandates access to a computer, which is much less harmful and encourages the next generation to have technical skills.

[@ttboggins3910]

The town Greystones in Ireland collectively banned smartphones in all the primary schools. With the parents cooperation. Now the Govt is looking to go nationwide with this, and ban the sale of smartphones to primary age school children.

[@karmaascendant3936]

Don’t you mean use of smartphones by children? Because they aren’t exactly being bought by the children themselves.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

They’re a real problem in secondary schools too, and potentially more harmful as cyberbullying is mainly happening to teenagers.

[@gammamaster1894]

I think this is a good idea.

[@simonmarshall3869]

Give the kids dumb phones

[@G94-u4c]

looking at and doing are two very diff things. I wouldn't expect much from the irish gov.

[@johnpower29]

It won't be long before we view social media for our mental health the same way we view smoking for our physical health

[@Simalacrum]

For people who are considering abstaining in the general election like the listener asking a question at 11:15, I'd like to raise the idea of spoiling your ballot instead of not voting. Spoiled ballots are counted at elections and indicate dissatisfaction with the system as a whole, while still being an active participant in the democratic process.

[@nathaniellowe5100]

This. Any person dissatisfied with the government and opposition, but can't be bothered to register and spoil, I have no patience for. It belittles those who died to make Britain a democracy, and an insult to those who live in nations which are not.

[@Simalacrum]

@@nathaniellowe5100 I wouldn't go quite this far; many people simply don't realise spoiling their ballot is an option, they simply don't think of it.

[@nathaniellowe5100]

@@Simalacrum Maybe I'm just jaded and cynical. I'm just irritated by political apathy when there are real problems that need solving, and and many ways to engage that so many people seem to take for granted. Maybe its an unfair assumption on my part, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that there is willful ignorance about our democracy. Its already under threat by political money, foreign interference, populism, and voter disenfranchisement. Do we have to make it easy for them?

[@col.hertford9855]

It’s too easily dismissed as incompetence by politicians to enamoured with their own egos.

[@xyzzdoe3674]

@@nathaniellowe5100 If that's what you think then you shouldn't advocate spoiling a ballot. You should be encouraging people to vote in a way that gets these Tories out as a priority. Spoiling your ballot in FPTP could re-elect them because the party faithful turn out and may give them the most actual votes. If the Tories get in again or aren't made politically irrelevant at the next GE, they will take it as confirmation that their extreme opinions are the right ones, and their corruption is fine. If they remain in power they absolutely will take away more rights from people, remove power from parliament, while giving more power to corporations that donate to them. If they don't but retain a significant presence, then they will obstruct reforms. Thinking all the parties are the same at the moment is a false equivalence and shows that it is you who is already politically apathetic.

[@crippsverse]

The school I work for insist phones are handed over. This was initially to restrict cyber bullying. This worked but we now have more actual learning going on. A few kids refuse to come in to school.

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

How do you handle kids who use phones for health reasons? For example monitoring blood sugar in real time via an app and wearable technology? Remembering back to how my school tried to prevent students from taking medication, and banned hospital visits (even when bones were visible) I somehow doubt theres exceptions.

[@crippsverse]

@@HALLish-jl5mo I haven't heard of any of our kids using tech like that so can't answer.

[@DylanSargesson]

How does that do anything to stop cyber bullying though? Surely that can just happen before/after the school day instead? And to be honest, the idea of a non-judicial body thinks it has the right to seize property (that can be worth literally thousands of pounds) makes me very uneasy.

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

@@DylanSargesson Children don't have rights like adults, that's why schools can take their property, people can hit them, hold them against their will etc, and it's legal. Imagine detention for adults. It would be kidnapping or false impressionment, but children don't have rights so... Imagine hitting an adult, that's assault, but when parents hit their children, that's still legal. Take their phones it's not theft it's confiscation....

[@DylanSargesson]

@@HALLish-jl5mo It's not that children have no rights. It's that some of their rights are held in trust by their parents/guardians (or the state) *in the best interests* of that child. Even if you call it confiscation, if there's no due process, appeals, or compensation that's unacceptable to me. (Especially when you remember that it is the parents who are paying for these devices and contracts, if you want to make an adult/child distinction). Assaulting children should be no different than assaulting an adult (that's already the situation in Wales and Scotland), so that argument doesn't really carry much weight with me either. And on after school detentions, some academics argue that there's no evidence they actually improve behaviour or academic performance in the long run.

[@ruaraidhmorrison5879]

I have 2 boys, aged 9 and 11 and my wife is a secondary school teacher. Mobile,phones and other screens for kids is one of the biggest problems in society for kids right now. I know, even as a 38 year old that my mental health is impacted by these things. My 11 year old is fairly bright, generally in the top group in his class at most academic subjects. He has always had a really bad relationship with screens. He has an inate addiction to them. If he watches TV for a couple of hours uninterrupted his behaviour changes massively and becomes very aggressive and unable to cope with social situations. We noticed it when he was very young. His younger brother is not the same. The eldest will completely “zone out” with a screen and if left to his own devices would easily sit for huge parts of the day watching mind numbing drivel on screens. It’s a form of escapism for him. We really worry about this when he gets older and is more independent and responsible for regulating these things himself. I genuinely think he won’t manage and will become a complete slave to a phone or I-pad. Neither of my kids either have a phone or I-pad, although they are completely in minority in school. My 9 year olds teacher asked the last week who had some form of tablet, he was the only one in his class who didn’t have one. And just under half had mobile,phones. I found this shocking. My wife says mobiles in secondary schools are a total nightmare and socially awkward kids often completely absorb themselves in a world within their mobile phones. Kids nowadays are just being allowed to do “what they want” to “make them happy” and this usually involves completely removing themselves from society. They don’t have to do any tasks that “cause them anxiety” and this has been clearly drilled into them their whole lives. We are creating a generation of kids who have absolutely no resilience to the mildest forms of adversity. They are taught they don’t have to do anything that makes them feel uneasy. My neighbour has 2 children of similar ages but both girls. They are very much one of these “new-age” parents. The eldest girl is 11 and was in my eldest sons class. They are now going into P7 in the summer and the neighbour eldest daughter left primary school at the end of P4 and has been home schooled since, because she “didn’t want to go to school”. I feel terribly sorry for that child, I see it as a form of child abuse. She won’t be able to cope with adulthood in the slightest. I feel she will have a terrible adolescence being removed from society and will have significant mental health issues. The youngest daughter is so far still going to school thankfully, but how long until she starts asking why she has to go to school and the eldest doesn’t? They call it “child lead parenting” which by my reckoning means if the kid says no, they don’t have to do it ever. What kind of an existence is that? Scary times,.

[@buzzukfiftythree]

Mobile phones were the bane of my life as a secondary school teacher back in the ‘noughties’. Officially, they were banned in the school, but it was just not enforced and I wasted so much time dealing with them being used while in class. OK, I’m probably a dinosaur, but I think they should be banned for under 16s. Parents who really care about their child’s education should think seriously about buying them for their kids. I even experienced a few occasions when a parent rang their child even though they knew that child would be in the middle of a lesson - and they were not emergencies.

[@adam7802]

If you're a dinosaur so am I, and I am a software engineer. Social media is not just addictive, it's designed to be addictive. It's very damaging to everyone, but especially so for children.

[@numberproof7228]

I disagree with both hosts on the majority of issues but I do agree on the smartphones. I'm in my 20's and got my first smartphone at 13. I got it later than most other children my age, and I still feel like I got it too early. I think most sensible young adults would say the same. The data is absolutely clear on mental health effects. Its also good to see on screen you showed Jonathan Haidt's book. He's definitely very sharp on this issue and many other issues.

[@KidarWolf]

As an adult, I can say that limiting my social media usage has done wonders for my mental health, and I believe it ties into another conversation point in this podcast - that of media bias. By limiting my social media usage, I am also limiting my exposure to news narratives pushed by right wing and far right individuals and the news media they control. Tying into yet another talking point made by Rory - if you know anything about the history of the Nazi regime, then you understand that othering and naming those others as scapegoats for many years in media, without such narratives being challenged, creates an environment in which fascist and eugenicist thinking is not only not discouraged, but actively encouraged. The consequence is poor mental health for minorities being targeted, and for the friends and family of those minorities being targeted. As a multiply marginalized minority who is regularly attacked by right wing media, it was only in disengaging with social media that my anxiety levels reduced. This does not mean that I do not still experience anxiety about my safety in society at large, having actually experienced harassment on the street by young people who I feel have not had anything to buffer them from far right thinking due to their usage of social media and resultant exposure to far right talking points, without a reasonable opposition view being presented as counterpoint. I have often said, as an Xennial, that the internet I grew up on, as one of the first "native netizens" is not remotely like the internet today - while yes, it is perfectly reasonable to say that the early days of the internet were very much like the wild west, I don't actually believe that to be so, looking back with the hindsight I have now. The native netizens of my youth I think were far more safety minded, and far more independent in thought, than the generations who have followed. Internet safety, media literacy, and critical thinking skills were actively taught to early young native netizens in a way that I don't believe is being taught today, and I think far too many native netizens of my generation are disconnected from how the environment of the internet itself has changed dramatically since our youth. The increasing commercialization, far from making the internet a safer place, I feel has done what some of the early netizens feared it would - created an environment in which outrage is farmed, because engagement means ad revenue, and there is little care for whether that engagement is positive for society at large. As the saying goes, "no attention is bad attention".

[@jbuchan12]

As a software engineer, I would say no smartphones until 16. There is an issue with education, and I still want them to learn how to use computers, etc. Personally, I think it's the social media aspect of it that is causing the problem.

[@danielchamberlain5067]

I knew there was a reason I was up early. Cheers chaps!

[@restispolitics]

Have a good day!

[@danielchamberlain5067]

@@restispolitics You too!

[@ioansamyris8637]

Such a delight to listen to you both. Thank you!

[@mr2fris1]

Amélie Nothomb is truly a belgian writer. She lives in Brussels & Paris and writes in French. The family Nothomb is well-known for having many diplomats and politicians within the family since the ‘creation’ of Belgium. Her great uncle was Charles Ferdinand Nothomb who was Minister of Internal Affairs during the Heysel drama. I think her father was a diplomat all over the world but spend quite some time in Japan and that she therefore speaks Japanese.

[@Bluetoothedshark]

I think most of the anti immigration sentiment is fueled by the horrendous state of our public service, social housing, welfare and care, people are feeling that immigrants get all the help that British people are struggling to get from those services. This is being fueled by the Tories deflecting people's rage towards the immigration issues. The true cause of the issue is austerity.

[@raraavis7782]

Yes. We have a similar thing going on in Germany. I also feel, that the root cause (in most, not all cases) is people feeling let down and disregarded by politicians. Add to economically hard times and a housing crisis to that and you got a very explosive mixture. Most people here don't even have strong political opinions. That is simply not, how we were socialised (as opposed to people in the USA, for example). There are exceptions to the rule, of course. People who are really, genuinely xenophobic (which again is different from racist. There are very, very few real racists around, as far as I can tell). But most people are just scared that their standard of living (including safety) is going to go down the toilet and that we can't afford (culturally or economically), to take in even more strangers.

[@Bluetoothedshark]

@@raraavis7782 to be honest, what we're dealing with here is end game capitalism. Everyone can see that the rules of the game don't add up anymore. The post war generation benefited massively from a transfer of wealth into socialist projects from housing and healthcare to a global financial system that rewards tiny investments with huge gains, that system was based on inflation, inflation reduces the value of debt over time, but inflation in housing provided one generation with huge reward, a new build 4 bed house with a garage and central heating cost my father 4k in the 60s , twice his annual salary, today that house is half a million 15/20 x the average salary, he had an investment plan with his bank that he paid £1 per month for 40 years, that's £480 in total investment, it paid out £20,000 on his 60th birthday. Now the numbers don't add up, and there is no return on savings, inflation is so high that it wipes out interest on savings, and try finding a policy like that with 40x return on investment. It's broken and it's all down hill from here. I'm sorry but it's not going to be pretty.

[@stephencoombes5415]

Thank you for yet another insightful discussion. Such a contrast to the overexcited US approach to politics

[@nigeh5326]

As a Brit I agree but I wish we had the nightly political comedy of Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Mehers and the Daily Show team, especially Jon Stewart (who would make a great President imo) and Jordan Klepper

[@heliumlynn]

Keep phones in school by all means, but make them simple call only phones.

[@annparker3222]

Well, Alistair, you and Tony 29:54 got us into the Iraq war, which still rumbles on to this day. Your ruthlessness has caused years of suffering.

[@lexman7179]

As a former IT teacher having kids with smart phones was often quite useful as they could use them to record video and audio to use for projects rather than having to use the literally decades old cameras that the school had. We only had a £50 a year budget for IT equipment.

[@franceslothian1319]

Agree with this. I taught DT and having phones out for research and taking photos was invaluable. The IT budget for schools would need to be multiplied by at least 10 to make this not the case.

[@petercouz]

in my kids school in Queensland they have to lock their phone in a pouch which locks closed at the gate when they wave it over a device on the entry gate

[@johnwalton8359]

Thank you for the upload!

[@HammyHam-19943]

I got a phone at 13 and the only reason I had a phone was because I was walking 45-60mins to school and it was a basic phone with no access to apps etc. Theres absolutely no reason why children need a smartphone at all. It’s not only an issue in schools but in safeguarding - a lot of parents don’t know what they’re up to or how to make tablets/smartphones child locked.

[@SamanthaOhara-r6l]

In the evenings when their home would be great ..I understand your thoughts.

[@kerryobrien71]

Informative yet relaxing and reassuring in the tone when describing the absolute S*** show that is politics. Love it, from Melb Australia.

[@CloudhoundCoUk]

Rory, I agree a creditable opposition is essential to democracy. However political parties that move away from the centre should be prevented from governing. One way to achieve this is to limit (fix) the amount parties can spend. Every single penny contributed must be accountable i.e. published online records. Particularly donations over a thousand pounds. It should be a criminal offence to give cash for honours, and or grant public contracts to donors or give contracts to MPs who have recently left the government (up to ten years). All MPs who leave parliament must be banned from lobbying the government. Anyone bending the law immediately goes to prison.

[@nigeh5326]

Basically you want an end to most of the elements that in the USA have damaged their system, and are damaging the political system of Britain and some other states.

[@joesoy9185]

Richard Tice, "leader" of the Reform UK Party Ltd., denied climate change last night on the BBC's Question Time.

[@adam7802]

I'm going to have to watch this now. Was climate change one of the questions they were talking about?

[@joesoy9185]

@@adam7802 Yes.

[@Mounhas]

Tice keeping the seat warm for Fuhrage who is keeping the seat warm for the bogus IEA representative no doubt.

[@adam7802]

@@joesoy9185 I have to say how on earth did you listen to this drivel, absolutely childish discourse. One of the reasons I like this channel is even if I don't agree, they have reasonable takes usually. I wanted to see if he literally said it wasn't real, he didn't. He said (albeit in a round about way) net zero doesn't make sense. The response was Fiona to give a gotcha question to which embarrassingly the audience clapped like a bunch of seals. There was very few good takes in this, just alot of squabbling in an echo chamber... It is good you watch this channel at least where they have real discussions that go beyond trying to make fun of the opposition for not sharing your view.

[@DeputyChiefWhip]

And the fact we are talking about him is a win for him!

[@joesoy9185]

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) is a movie which portrays a family living next to a concentration camp. Recommended !

[@nadinechant2243]

On mobile phones in schools, I don't have the answer but I worked in a secondary school and the practical issues that made it difficult was children with diabetes use mobiles to monitor blood sugars and I believe are used for other medical monitoring. Young carer are another group wjo often have the adult responsibilities for the family and need to be contactable. I agree it is worrying the influence social media has on our youth but in practice it becomes trickier than it first appears.

[@franceslothian1319]

Anthony should vote green. If he's thinking of abstaining it would be better to send a message about climate change. Parties get worried about significant votes going elsewhere - see ukip etc

[@famesx2885]

Why wasn’t Rory PM, instead we picked Johnson , as a one nation Tory I think Rory was our last hope

[@joesoy9185]

Who the hell is we ? I'm definitely not guilty !

[@kville5796]

​@@joesoy9185lol

[@kville5796]

Hey, @famesx2885, listen! If Johnson comes back, he will most likely win. The reason is that people admire Johnson's unashamed and straightforward approach. He's like Donald Trump in that sense. People appreciate politicians who don't play games, have no pretense, and are no-nonsense.

[@famesx2885]

@@joesoy9185 he was nonsense through and through, he never wanted Brexit and only pretended to want it for his own gains. Bring back Cameron or may

[@kville5796]

@@stevedowns9450 I beg to differ m8.

[@pjs20thetube]

I don't understand why people need to be attached to a political party if the party has drifted from their political views. If the party has shifted, leave and form another. If the system is stacked in favour of the incumbent parties, work with like-minded people to change the system. In any case, shouldn't voters be voting for policies, not party?

[@aengberg1]

I've often thought that if you swapped manifestos around, party members wouldn't notice or care. They vote blindly for "their" man or woman, regardless of policies.

[@nigeh5326]

I am a Labour Party member and while I don’t always agree with the party’s policies I stay so as to make my views known and to try to change things from within. No party’s manifesto will agree with everything a person wants. It’s best to look at each parties manifesto and decide based on which Is closest to our personal wants. Combined with looking at the government’s and the opposition’s record in recent years. I’m still getting tories moaning about the note left for the incoming chancellor in 2010 saying ‘oh that proves Labour will spend all the money. Labour were responsible for the economic debacle of 2008’. Yet any economist or historian will tell you it was the US government’s de regulation of the financial sector and the sub prime mortgage scandal.

[@phueal]

I don't know that I'm a "tech leader", because I'm not a CEO or something, but I am in a very senior technical role at a global software company. I will not be letting my two kids have a smartphone until the last possible second...

[@t5kcannon1]

Thanks for the interesting content!

[@jimb9063]

Thank you gents. Good to see the smartphone issue was chosen as the headline, however it's something which affects everyone and not just children. Sadly it seems the solution is to just hand out more mops and buckets rather than fixing the leak? I guess it's good for the economy to have lots of fast food joints and gyms, and smartphones and mental health workers rather than less of all of them in the first place.

[@adcs88]

Liz Truss not a climate change denier? As PM she pledged to expand oil and gas production from the North Sea, ended a ban on fracking and tried to change the rules so that farmers could no longer put solar panels on their fields. In her book that you didn’t read (female authoress) she urges the UK, U.S. and EU to drop their landmark climate change laws, spreads falsehoods about green policies, and fondly recalls an attempt to cancel a major climate conference. She is now fully-fledged US neocon and no longer fit to be a British MP - if she ever was.

[@tisFrancesfault]

tbf that does not make you a CC denier, it just means you don't care. Or at least are so focused on short term ideas that it doesnt matter. I think Cigs give you cancer... I still smoke.

[@adcs88]

@@tisFrancesfault Why try to cancel a major climate conference, if you just don’t care? Why try to make Mark Liittlewood of the IEA (funded by BP) a Lord if you’re “not really bovvered”. Climate change is undeniable, action not words matter and she quacks like a duck, looks like a duck etc. BTW cigs DO give you cancer.

[@adcs88]

@@tisFrancesfault Well she looks like a duck, swims like a duck, walks like a duck and is completely quackers ergo…

[@benwilson6145]

Hopefully the lettuce meets up with Farage, they marry and stay in the USA

[@nds9015]

​@@benwilson6145 The compost for the cabbage

[@romeo20maypole68]

Smartphones and The Mental Health Of Children - thank you for the discussion

[@kohvazein7798]

I love how Alistair frames girls and boys mental health so differently, demonstrating the issue we have in tackling mental health problems in young boys and men. (I'm sure it was unintentional, as most unconscious bias is). Girls have "anxiety", but it's "the attitudes of boys" when we talk about them. Notice the very convenient difference in the locus of control here. Girls have a something that not their fault, and a problem we should all have a stake in fixing. But boys? "It's their attitudes you see, it's all wrong. We need to fix their wrong thinking". It's honestly so bizarre to me. If you're describing anxiety in girls as an example of youth mental health, you can also describe this for boys. "anxiety in girls and boys" is perfectly fine.

[@DylanSargesson]

13:00 the questioner was from Devizes - where the Tory MP is Danny Kruger, who supported Suella Bravermanm in the last leadership election (and likely will again).

[@BusyLizzy575]

I’d say as a parent, my biggest concern by a long long way is that children who unlimited access to screens will never develop any of their creative muscles. When they pick up a screen, 99 percent of the time they become a consumer. And i think thats really sad and bad for the children

[@benadams6872]

This is like when the tobacco industry said smoking was healthy. Of course the tech companies are going to say there is nothing wrong with usage of smartphones.

[@jackganley1787]

Love it!

[@clukar01]

NZ has just banned phones in schools from next term. But the issue is enforcement. Teachers already have allot to do.

[@MG-df8mw]

Exactly, it’s the parents responsibility.

[@tonychorley4936]

We can do something about the worries next door, though not on the level of living next to a concentration camp. I volunteer with Homestart, who provide support for families who have at least one child under the age of 5, and are struggling, it is very rewarding. We also decided to foster. I saw the children of one of our families going into care, then these two small children placed out of area then moved three times in three weeks. They wouldn’t allow us to take them in, so we spent a year being assessed and trained and became foster parents, sometimes sad but always rewarding when you see the difference you can make in children’s lives.

[@orientaljones000]

Zone of Interest: your comments are so apt, the more so for both of your involvements in interventionist foreign policy. How does it feel?

[@kimvernon9416]

Re female authors yes you have mentioned a couple but I too have noticed the rarity. Also, during your discussion of people who would have made great prime ministers, surely Barbara Castle among others should have made your list, which as I recall was all male. Harriet Hartman too I think. Well done for interviewing Angela Raynor and Caroline Lucas recently. The Raynor interview in particular was a revelation.

[@kimvernon9416]

Harman

[@John-Dennehy]

Sensible restrictions are fine, but prohibition is never the best solution. Maybe I'm just lucky but, in my experience as a parent, it's always better to simply teach children about moderation and trust, and give them the opportunities and encouragement for the behaviours we would rather see. All the parents I see banning sweets and screen time, seem to have ended up with a self fulfilling prophecy, with children that actively crave and seek out 'prohibited' activities as soon as the parent isn't looking.

[@Evgaiart]

Decent and integral are not words that come to mind when Starmer is mentioned to be honest, duplicitous would be one that does.

[@willrelf1377]

Keir Starmer saying the Tories have made people feel hopeless about politics. How are those pledges coming along Keir? No single person has made me more hopeless and apathetic about politics than Starmer.

[@philnasmith9755]

Recommendation: All the Women’s Prize for Non-fiction books on the long-list for this year. And then there is also the WP Fiction longlist …

[@MeneerSoepgroente]

4:50 The joy of seeing a female author quickly got overwhelmed by the horrors of folding the page.

[@patrickhorgan8389]

Did you enjoy Alastair's put down...."You haven't been listening closely enough. " ... what a silly girl 😅

[@jezbear1972]

RS, i like your argument for independent Mayors. However how come you are unable to take that thesis to it's logical conclusion in that all MP's should be independent and parties banned! Party politics is the problem. If the Mayor is the CEO of the area and should be independent, does this argument hold even more water for the CEO of UKPLC???

[@marcoedelrolandi4936]

I don't think the problem is the smartphones, but rather the content we're "consuming" on the smartphones themselves. Which is for the most part fractured, short, and addictive. If you ban phones but keep the content coming in other forms (streaming, tvs on demand, computers) you're not solving the issue. That being said, I'm the last person to say we should start censor content. I think the answer lies in choice and education. Both in school and at home. Kids should not look at smartphones every five minutes because they're forbidden, they should not do that because they're conscious there are better things to do.

[@DeputyChiefWhip]

32:39 here's a few ideas for happiness... 1. Reduce Poverty significantly by taxing and controlling the greed of the Rich. 2. Encourage working together instead of forming 3. Reduce Hierarchies. 4. Provide people with safety in everything they do in life. 5. Encourage, help and support people. 6. Stop so much negative media.

[@thehappyhound770]

Rory!!!! Seriously, historical fiction, women authors, Dorothy Dunnett. Don’t tell me you haven’t!!!

[@i-edu]

You also recommended Memory Makers by Jade McGlynn which is excellent.

[@philipsmith1990]

We have been conned about climate change. There are multiple climate models all of which suffer from the lack of sufficiently accurate input data. Among many other things there are experiments going on to discover how forests react to increased CO2. This is about as fundamental an input parameter as can be. If your model produces too extreme a result then you look at the input parameters and decide that maybe a couple of them need adjustment to produce a less extreme ouput. The models produce a range of predictions, we hope that the truth must lie somewhere in the middle of the range. It is becoming clear that the models are too modest, climate change is happening more rapidly then they predict, perhaps because of the model moderating effect I mention above. Life will become more difficult everywhere and in some places very much more difficult or impossible. the resulting population shifts will add to the military conflicts already spreading. It is probably too late for action to reduce CO2 to be effective but we must keep on trying. At the same time we need to work out how to ameliorate the indirect effects which will be most catastrophic.

[@craigfellowes359]

The fact that social media networks (Facebook, Instagram) have now implemented take-a-break reminders that can be set for users.. similar to gambling websites.. is a strong indication that this is heading into addiction territory

[@martinbennett2228]

Although there is scope for positive use of smartphones in school, overall, in my experience, they are a massive distraction and an ever present difficulty for the teacher. We would be better off without them in schools, but I am not sure what would be the effective mechanism for achieving a ban that would not be onerous to administer. Perhaps all classrooms could be turned into Faraday cages.

[@gammamaster1894]

This whole issue with the smartphones is absolutely nothing new, it's disgraceful that it's taking this long to come seriously into conversation. The same goes for all other ways of accessing the internet unrestrictedly really.

[@simonmcglary]

Totally agree on biodiversity loss! Something UK has to make huge inroads on its own doorstep!

[@matt2585]

It's not smartphones themselves, it's social media, and more specifically the algorithms contained within. These algorithms are not even all specifically designed with malicious intent, they just favour whatever generates a snap response, which unfortunately is usually anything negative, so these things are reinforced and shown more often.

[@annparker3222]

Most people who doubt government policies regarding combating climate change, don't doubt climate change itself just the measures being taken.Personally, I would take drastic action to prevent the excess use of plastics. It doesn't involve children, or dangerous mining of rare metals etc

[@samporter971]

Studies of correlation between internet use and mental and physical health even with a large pinch of salt is however subjective worth a look

[@JB-ys8ct]

I completely agree with Rory's take on not wanting the Tory party to collapse. Whilst I have a strong dislike towards the Tories, if they were to completely collapse, most likely we'd have Reform UK take their place as the main right-wing party and they seem to be leaning too much into far-right populism which isn't good for anyone.

[@dba1222]

The Goldfinch and The Secret History are great. Also A Little Life by Yanagihara is beautiful and crushing. Persepolis the book / film also excellent. Wild Swans by Jung Chang. And of course the Brontë books, and Jane Austen. Its a good question though isnt it. My bookcase is full of male written books. Is it because i like thrm more, of women are underrepresented?

[@margaretsaleeby9531]

Alistar what about the algorithms that mostly all corporate media platforms are using today to compete with each other? Isn’t this what Shoshana Zuboff’s book on the Age of Surveillance Capitalism explains in greater detail? It’s another fantastic book written by a woman by the way.

[@richardoldfield6714]

A book recommendation that ties together the themes of both education and female authors: Katharine Birbalsingh, author of the ‘The Power of Culture: The Michaela Way’.

[@ali-yp3yw]

When talking of human suffering and the banality of evil and the immense capability of human beings to inflict such brutality whilst insulating ourselves from it I find it astounding that you do not mention the current onslaught of violence in gaza upon defenseless babies and civilians. Perhaps this is how it happens, otherwise good people don't find it in themselves to confront evil when it stares them in the eye.

[@MichaelBennett1]

Kids swapped one screen in the corner of front room for their own screen and at least phones are interactive, also many kids play games like Minecraft or Roblox which are great for encouraging creativity…virtual Lego with no foot traps lying around after. Having said that, no phones in schools and no social media enforced by ID requirements to prove you’re 16+. It’s a huge pity that community centres were closed. I received more friendship and mentorship from one of those than anything else when I was growing up and it kept me out of trouble.

[@DylanSargesson]

Not being able to use a smartphone in school while teaching is happening is completely different from not being to have them on their person at school. Break times and the travel to/from exist. But realistically teachers need to adapt and embrace students using their phones as part of the lessons. We should be teaching kids how to better research on and use these resources, rather than sending them into the adult world (where phones and technology are ubiquitous) completely unprepared. In that respect I see it as no different from banning books. And also if a teacher has failed to make their lesson interesting enough, so the kid wants to go on their phone instead, that is a failure of the teacher.

[@jamesdecross1035]

This weeks prediction: Star Wars conducted on children's smartphones.

[@stevewebster5729]

Smoking looks like it's being banned, but we're just replacing that addiction with another - smartphones...

[@buzzukfiftythree]

The problem Sunak has is that the past 14 years of Tory government has created such a negative political environment where anything positive that he tries to do now is so much more difficult, if not impossible. That says to me that it is time for a change of government and, whatever reservations I have about Labour at the moment, they will do a far better job than the Tories (who are moving further and further to the right).

[@nigeh5326]

I am, and always have been a Labour voter. I’m also a party member. Yes even during the Corbin period (I didn’t want him as leader but the majority did and the Labour Party is a Democratic Party) I understand some people’s reservations about Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. But he has pushed the more radical left wing elements of the party back and given us a moderate Social Democratic Party that will balance the books. The next Labour Government will also act to get rid of tax loopholes that enable the rich and corporations to hide money offshore and evade paying their fair share of tax. They will direct money to helping the majority and building an economy based on longer term prosperity for all rather than short term panicked reactionary planning. It will aim to work with Europe. Not against it in some regressive little Englander ‘bring back the empire’ way. The tories have always and will always be the party of the aristocracy and the rich.

[@RobBCactive]

Think how politics has been pushed gradually to what was the hard right when Thatcher won in 1979. Patience is required but the Tories have begun dabbling in oligarchal/Sadopopulist style, which is why their policies they do don't help and there's so much distraction and outrage being pushed. It gives a sense that the government cannot change anything. But if Labour announce a plan then the Tories may sabotage it like in the last budget and suddenly selling land acquired for HS2.

[@SarahStarmer]

I am very much against "Proper mental health support in schools." Parents have to be able to trust that schools will not persuade children to take psychiatric medication or threaten to take children into care. Most psychiatrists are untrustworthy.

[@cybergornstartrooper2157]

I remember not too long ago it was TV that was the bad guy, square eyes and rotting brains etc, and if you go back to the turn of the last century they were talking about banning kids from reading books.

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Our society causes mental health problems in so many ways, people need to be taught how to make good decisions rather than being constantly told what you can and cant do.😊

[@michaelpolya4924]

Alastair, I know the Nothomb family and I have to correct you on Amélie's nationality. She is Belgian.

[@stephenconway2468]

I wonder if you could have a software restriction allowing it to work as a phone only during certain hours.

[@simonfrost7094]

All phones have some form of parental restrictions, which allows a parent/guardian to configure access (sometimes granular access) to the phones' features, apps, etc. It needs to be configured by a parent though. Some ISPs also offer a 'kill-switch' where internet access can be disabled after a certain time, for example. This is a problem which has already been solved, it's up to parents to use it though.

[@stephenconway2468]

@@simonfrost7094 There you go. I would apply that with school hours and up to certain times at night.

[@Frankbezema]

Regarding the voting discussion; did anyone do research into why both parties moved more towards the “extremes”? Labour moved more towards the left although they should move with the middle classes (working class) as that’s in their name (labour class). In this discussion the distinction is made between middel class and working class, are these not the same? Or are we missing a middle class party?

[@kville5796]

I agree, Rory - 18:46.

[@EricDMMiller]

Who cares about kids? It's not like any of them will get to grow up.

[@nigeh5326]

Some were saying that in the Cold War and those of us who grew up during it were100% aware at any time we could be vaporised in a nuclear exchange. Yet we are still here. Don’t lose hope that things can change we just need to keep pushing those in power

[@EricDMMiller]

@@nigeh5326 nah. There's too much to fix everywhere. This will be the last generation.

[@GibsonFender]

“Never get high on your own supply” - Tony Montana (Scarface)

[@mysticbudah]

The discussion about smartphones is a bit ridiculous. Saying smartphones cause mental health issues is like saying ovens cause obesity. Fair enough if you might want to limit the time kids spend on certain apps, social media etc, but smartphones themselves aren't the problem.

[@jpgpearson]

What about living in Hampstead knowing the poverty up north, being on the right side of the Watford gap

[@MathewDodds]

You point on community making people happy, yes i think it does BUT if you then move somewhere and are Not part of the community or seen as an outsider or “not one of us” you see very little support or negativity A few years ago I move to a small town with a strong town Center community to work at a soon to open restaurant and we where seen as outsiders and not “town people” or part of the group and the locals made it exceedingly difficult for the restaurant to survive, we think the main reason for this was because most of the people live there had always done so, hadn’t moved away and new people moved in and seemed like more of a closed off community rather than a community looking to grow and spending more time looking to the past than the future

[@SamanthaOhara-r6l]

Yes Smart phones have locks on for kids ,2 hours only 👍🇬🇧

[@RobbieMeadows-oz4cx]

I really look forward to my favourite former politicians. Rory , I'm not keen on Tories, but you, sir, you get a pass . Smartphones... not just children .Look at what is happening in America right now. Social media is being used as a weapon to rile division and hate. It's a worrying time

[@ed1726]

Steve Jobs is famous for limiting his children's screen time - he is also famous for limiting medical treatment for his cancer. My only point here is that what tech leaders know about tech is maybe not what you think it might be. Screen time used productively is great, screen time used unproductively is bad. Stress and anxiety alleviated by screen time is great, stress and anxiety caused by screen time is bad. I'm sure you get the idea here. Long story short, the evidence shows that screen time is great if you are spending that time on quality and in moderation (just like every other single thing that exists). P.S. Of course social media and TikTok are bad, they are low quality. Low quality is bad by definition.

[@HussainFilm]

I didn't notice a question about Liz Truss, despite the title of this video? Am I missing something?

[@CloudhoundCoUk]

There is no problem with students using smartphones provided they are taught how to identify and manage the pros and negatives i.e. how apps are designed to manipulate users. Students should be taught critical thinking skills. They need to understand and identify the objectives of software and media moguls. During lessons absolutely no use.

[@franceslothian1319]

You can teach these things to a certain extent but it will have no effect on the addictive process. Plenty of highly intelligent people have ended up as addicts of one sort of another. Phones do have a place in lessons as school based IT is poor in most secondary schools. Using phones for research is very helpful. I've allowed it subject to making the rules very clear i.e. if I see you using the phone for something else it gets instantly confiscated.

[@colincampbell4261]

Smart phones can be used as a teaching aid.

[@499PUCK]

So there is now a new excuse for older people to use agonist the youth. Jazz music, rock & roll, dancing (in a way the old folk don’t like), computer games, and now smart phones. The idea that we can restrain change is laughable. To think we will ever slow or repress change means it’s already past you, and it’s too late.

[@ianbanks3016]

There's no joined up thinking here though, educators are constantly pushed to put resources, classes etc online, to make the online environment more relevant to education. You can't go around preaching and promoting that that while also demading that phones in school should be banned.

[@chocobxl]

Amélie Nothomb is Belgian.

[@AndyHarrison-zc8if]

Even Amelie Nothomb isn't sure where she was born, so we can forgive Alastair for calling her French.

[@patrickvb7100]

Amélie Nothomb is not French! She’s Belgian! 😉 …and a great writer

[@dannyg5424]

Has there ever been a single episode where Tony Blair isn’t mentioned?

[@jeffreyjoshuarollin9554]

I disagree strongly with Rory on the idea that opposition to immigration in this country is not tied up with racism, for a few reasons. 1. The Rwanda bill: surely, Rwanda was chosen because it is supposedly a deterrent (you could argue about the efficacy of deterrence on everything from smoking cigarettes to drinking alcohol to the death penalty as a punishment for murder, but nevertheless deterrence is often a motivating factor whether it is actually proven to work - or proven to be ineffective). 2. Rory surely remembers stories of Leave voters shouting at Poles (and no doubt others) “WE VOTED LEAVE, SO LEAVE!” 3. Many’s the time (though it thankfully seems to have died down a bit since the height of Brexit fever) when an unsuspecting Anglo-Saxon person has taken one look at me, assumed he or she can shout their mouth off about (for example) the “fact” that (supposedly) there are no white people in London (I live in Newcastle so it’s hard to judge, but I can tell you all else being equal, if everyone on my quiet leafy street here moved out and was replaced by a visible ethnic minority, I wouldn’t give a flying falafel). But, unfortunately for the aforementioned unsuspecting Anglo-Saxon, it turns out that if the previous comment didn’t already give the game away I’m Jewish, not racist and difficult to shut up when I get going. 4. Finally I’d note that as far as I understand it, immigration is not a burning issue for most people, but *is* a burning issue for those who care about it at all, and therefore I submit that the Venn diagram of “people who care about immigration,” and “people who are racist,” is probably closer to a circle than Rory thinks. Not to mention that whilst the excuse for getting up in arms about immigration in this country is often that “we are an island,” immigration is also a hot issue (laughably so given the country’s history) in the US, which is definitely not an island, many of which states could comfortably accommodate the whole of Great Britain in a geographical sense, and quite a few do so several times over. I therefore submit that the real excuse for getting up in arms about immigration among those who do isn’t so much the size of the country or its existing population, so much as the act of getting one’s knickers in a twist about it in itself.

[@annettekearney9798]

There’s no moderate Tory MPs left Rory.

[@MaryDawson-t5m]

I remember Margaret Hodge

[@jpgpearson]

Security services blaming Rupert Murdock what a joke