Left To Their Own Devices

By Toronto Star

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Category: Documentary

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Subscribers: 7
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Episodes: 8

Description

We gave children the most powerful tools in human history. Then, we left them to their own devices. When she was 12 years old, Ava Smithing spiraled down a social media rabbit hole that nearly cost her life. A decade later, she discovered she wasn't alone: Big Tech had rewritten childhood and adolescence for her entire generation. Armed with questions and a year to find answers, Ava embarked on a cross-continent investigation into a hidden digital world. She met teens in 12-step programs for social media addiction, young girls wrestling with compulsive porn use, and boys who had been blackmailed by international cybercriminals. This isn't a self-help guide to digital wellness. It's a survival story from the front lines of 21st century childhood: where young people are re-writing the playbook for what it means to be human in a hyperconnected world.

Episode Date
See You in Court
Oct 31, 2025
Yahoo Boys
Oct 24, 2025
Blackmailed
Oct 17, 2025
Brain Rot
Oct 10, 2025
Big Tech's Origin Story
Oct 03, 2025
A Tale of Two Algorithms
Sep 26, 2025
Internet Addicts Anonymous
Sep 26, 2025
Introducing Left to Their Own Devices
Sep 19, 2025