Social Media: Taking over the summer

Social media is taking children’s summers; not even the beach is safe from this digital drug.

When you go to the beach this summer, you will see people doing a whole host of things: sunbathing, swimming, playing sports, reading a good book, writing, drawing, playing in the sand, etc. But more and more, you will see young children not playing in the water, swimming, snorkelling, throwing a ball around, flying a kite or exploring. Instead, they will be glued to their mobile devices as they record dances for social media, looking down at their devices, not up, not playing or extracting as much out of the day as possible. You will also see parents caving to their children’s demands, handing them electronic devices left, right and centre to appease them as they try to enjoy their day in the sun with their friends.

Summer has arrived

I live in the South of France, and as of last weekend, the weather down here has become very summery; the beaches are already filling up with people left, right and centre. When I saw what I wrote in the introduction, I was relaxing on the beach, soaking up the sun, drinking my coffee, and listening to a good book on Audible, when I spotted a group of young girls no older than 10–12 recording one of those silly “TikTok” dances for…