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Unlocked review: Why we don't need to panic about our phones

What is all our screen use really doing to us? Pete Etchells's new book counters the scare stories by sticking to the science, says Chris Stokel-Walker

By Chris Stokel-Walker

20 March 2024

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock (14291785a) GELDERMALSEN - A student puts his cell phone in a phone pocket at ORS Lek and Linge secondary school. Since January 1, 2024, there has been a national ban on the use of mobile phones in the classroom. High School Phone Ban, Geldermalsen, Netherlands - 09 Jan 2024 — In the Netherlands, schoolchildren must leave their smartphones outside the classroom
Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock

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Pete Etchells (Piatkus)

DURING the course of writing this review, I looked at four separate screens. There was my laptop, onto which I typed this text; there was my phone, pinging and buzzing with messages from friends and colleagues; my iPad, for hunting additional details; and, in the background, a TV passively showing programmes.

So far, so normal in 2024. But what do all those screens and the time spent with them do to us? Plenty of books and…

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