society
Hosted by Toronto Star · society · EN
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.
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Contact path
Verified email
Booking probability
29%
Guest openness
Selective
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Signup to Generate a PitchWe 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.
Left To Their Own Devices is hosted by Toronto Star. The show has published 13 episodes to date.
Recent episodes include "In conversation with Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation" (7 April 2026, 59 minutes), "Bonus panel discussion: A conversation on building healthy digital habits for youth" (2 February 2026, 61 minutes), and "Left to Our Own Devices" (21 November 2025, 30 minutes).
Left To Their Own Devices publishes roughly weekly, with episodes averaging 34 minutes across 13 episodes.
Booking probability for Left To Their Own Devices is 29%, and the host is rated Selective on guests. Left To Their Own Devices requires a Pod Score of 80 or higher. Left To Their Own Devices's contact route on record: verified email.
The strongest fits for Left To Their Own Devices are Libraries, Archives & Web Portals. Left To Their Own Devices has a society audience.
Toronto Star hosts Left To Their Own Devices, a society podcast with 13 episodes published.
Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.
Left To Their Own Devices
<p >The last few months have been a turning point. In late March, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez won his case against Meta, with a jury finding that Facebook and Instagram's parent company had engaged in...
Left To Their Own Devices
<p>Today's technology has redefined childhood and adolescence. </p> <p>In a virtual conversation on Thursday, January 22 editor Ceri Marsh was joined by Ava Smithing, host of this podcast Left to Their Own Devices, and...
Episode #10
<p>On December 10, 2025, Australia will be the first country in the world to ban social media for kids. It's a radical step, and lawmakers around the world are taking notice. In the U.S., eight states have proposed...
Episode #9
<p >The numbers are staggering. In the US, 71% of teenagers say they've watched porn in the last week. In Canada, 88% of boys have seen it by the age of fourteen. And in the UK, one in four kids have been exposed to...
Episode #8
<p >When Ghyslain Raza – aka the "Star Wars Kid" – became the internet's first viral sensation, it nearly destroyed him. More than twenty years later, many young people today are desperate for that kind of fame – even...
Episode #7
<p >In the absence of meaningful regulation, thousands of young people are now looking to the justice system to hold Big Tech accountable. In this episode, we go inside three landmark lawsuits that could finally force...
Episode #6
<p >The West African cybercriminals who call themselves the Yahoo Boys have perfected dozens of cons – including the infamous Nigerian Prince email scam. But recently, they've discovered something far more lucrative...
Episode #5
<p >Like a lot of lonely teenagers, Sarah found refuge on social media. In her lowest moments, she'd reach for her phone, connecting with strangers on Snapchat and Wizz – an app that's been called "Tinder for kids." But...
Episode #4
<p >Are screens rewiring kids' brains and creating a generation of depressed teens? After Jonathan Haidt published his mega-bestseller The Anxious Generation, a lot of parents became convinced that they were. But the...
Episode #3
<p >You'd be hard-pressed to find a young person who uses Facebook regularly. But to understand why social media has had such a profound, and sometimes devastating, effect on kids, you need to understand Facebook's...
Episode #2
<p >Algorithms are the invisible engines that drive every scroll, swipe or click. And, in the last few years, it's become clear that they can devastate young lives. But Ava discovers they might also be capable of saving...
Episode #1
<p >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...
Left To Their Own Devices
<p >We handed kids the most powerful technology in history. Then we walked away. This is what happened next.</p> <p >When she was 12 years old, Ava Smithing spiraled down a social media rabbit hole that nearly cost her...
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