24th Feb 2026

Smart phones. Dumb parents.

Let’s cut to the chase. It your fault. Entirely your fault. Maybe, perhaps, the fault or you and your partner combined. Your fault.

One social media company started with the ethos ‘do no evil’ but allowed evil people to spread noxious media, videos, information, writings etc on their platforms. There are lots of bad people out there. Some encouraging people to end their lives. One even sending the ‘tool’ in the post to make it quick and easy. I know what he sent people. I have a store of it which I use from time to time in my illustrative works. I won’t let on what it is.

People are blaming the social media companies. People want the government to do more. I refuse to discuss this side of the issue further. What these people are not doing is taking matters into their own hands. They could. You as parents are solely to blame.

I know the upside to having internet access. I know how wonderful most of it is. I know all about peer pressure. I know about bullying. That and much more is open to debate. There is only one debate you need to have. Should I or should I not allow my children into an adult arena. Unfettered access. Smart phones in their bedrooms which may lead to them being in contact with older miscreants. A laptop in the family area is a compromise.

Whilst I do not wish to engage with people in regards the rights and wrongs of underage smart phone use, I do know a thing or two about grief.

Grief is crippling. When/if it fades to some extent, you lose the person twice. First physically then mentally as they fade from your everyday conscious. The pain, pain and more pain. Grief is shit. I cannot think of a single upside. For me I suppose it gave me an experience and some knowledge upon which to write a page in my book. Little else.

The truth. It is your fault. Accepting that is critical. You can blame others for the rest of your life if you choose. That is up to you.

If it is indeed your fault - we know that to be true. Then you can at least head down a better path. You can blame yourself. Every day. You were the negligent one. You neglected your duty. You did wrong. You can pretend that you did not know the dangers if you want. Lie. Or tell the truth.

If your child has hanged themselves or partaken in a crazy challenge that was promoted online, it is your fault.

Many children do get up to all sorts regardless of smart phones. Children have died playing about on railway crossings. Some run across busy roads without looking. Dangers have always lurked in many places. Toddlers drown in very shallow ponds. Children have got their necks caught in the strings used to raise window blinds. Some have died in fires, needlessly if the battery in the smoke alarm was dead. I could mention deadly diseases that take a few each year. Smart phones are not the sole cause of death. They are however a big problem that we duck and avoid confronting.

Why did VHS video recorders outsell Betamax? Sony would not allow pornographers to use Betamax to distribute their content. No such restrictions were in place for VHS. Before Google et al, people scrambled to secure domain names such as sex.com. No need for a search bar for that. Like it or not sex played a big part in getting the World Wide Web established. Sex sells. Whilst sex sells, truly awful pornography is accessible with limited restrictions. And it is your fault if your children become exposed to that. I know that they could pop around their friend’s house and see some. However, moderation comes into play. One packet of crisps a week is different to 30 packets of tainted crisps a day. Less is better.