Adele Walton
Verified
Author of Logging Off: The Human Cost of Our Digital World 📕 Journalist and Online Safety Campaigner | co-founder Logging Off Club
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Articles by Adele Walton
Meta helped destroy my generation’s sense of self. An $18bn settlement is not punishment enough
I’ve been on Meta platforms ever since I can remember. I made my Facebook account on the family PC aged 10 and downloaded Instagram at the age of 12 on my iPhone 3GS. As a gen Z-er, I’m part of the guinea-pig generation who grew up online, and the trillion-dollar company has had more of an influence on my life than a lot of my family members. But since losing a loved one to online harms in 2022, I’ve witnessed firsthand the most devastating impacts of unregulated social media.
「学校のスマートフォン禁止」を求める声が絶えない理由
スマホ禁止に踏み切る学校【後編】 「学校のスマートフォン禁止」を求める声が絶えない理由 健全な学校づくりのために、子どものスマートフォン利用を規制する動きがある。ただしその決定が不十分だと指摘する声もある。スマートフォン利用の何が問題視されているのか。 スマートフォンの利用が子どもに与える悪影響を懸念する声が強まっている。そうした中、英国では2023年10月にOSA（Online Safety Act 2023：オンライン安全法）が成立。それを受けて学校での利用規制の動きは広がっているものの、一部ではより厳格な法規制を求める声がある。 新たなオンライン規制の必要性 ログイン または 会員登録するとすべてご覧いただけます。 会員登録・ログインして続きを読む 併せて読みたいお薦め記事 連載：スマホ禁止に踏み切る学校 教育現場の健全なIT活用に向けて 保護者や教職員だけではなく、市民グループも英国のOSA施行案に対して不満を表明している。OSAに関する協議が続く中、インターネットの安全な利用に関するさらに厳格な法規制の必要性を主張している。 デジタルセーフティー慈善団体5Rights...
「スマートフォン禁止」が学校にもたらした“驚きの改善効果”とは？
スマホ禁止に踏み切る学校【中編】 「スマートフォン禁止」が学校にもたらした“驚きの改善効果”とは？ 健全な学校づくりを目指し、学校がスマートフォンの全面禁止に踏み切り出した。従来の「かばんにしまう」程度のルールでは効果が見られなかった現場で、どのような変化が起きたのか。英国での取り組み例と施策を紹介する。 スマートフォンとSNS（ソーシャルネットワーキングサービス）が子どもに与える悪影響を懸念する声が、保護者と教職員の両方から上がっている。そうした中で英国は、国を挙げて子どものスマートフォンやインターネット利用の規制に乗り出しており、2023年10月にはOSA（Online Safety Act 2023：オンライン安全法）が成立した。 イングランドにあるJohn Wallis Academyの校長ダミアン・マクビース氏は、以前は「スマートフォンの電源をオフにしてかばんの中に入れる」というルールを採用していたが、効果がなかったという。その後、同校はスマートフォン利用禁止のルールを導入し、“顕著な改善”を確認できた。どのような効果を得られたのか。...
Adele Walton: The Online Safety Act is supposed to make Britain’s internet a safe space – yet it can’t touch the site linked to my sister’s death
This week, I lost all faith in the promise of the Online Safety Act to make the UK the safest place to be online. Why? Because the regulator responsible for enforcing the law announced they can take no more action against the nihilistic pro-suicide website responsible for 164 UK deaths, including that of my 21 year-old sister Aimee.
We’re being asked to save two buckets of water a day. Meanwhile data centres drink a town’s worth
Lying on my bedroom floor in front of a fan with a wet flannel on my head, desperately trying to cool down in the middle of the UK’s historic heatwave last month, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing. Data centres. Every time I had a cold shower for a temporary relief, I was haunted by the knowledge that AI data centres are already gobbling up millions of litres of water that they require for cooling, and I became fearful of a day where I might turn on the tap and not be able to get a drop.
Six Books to Help Reboot Your Relationship With Your Phone
Posted on 26th June 2026 by Mark Skinner Our smartphones can often feel like an extension of our bodies these days, with a million distractions and online rabbit holes to keep us scrolling - and even drag us away from a good book.
Saving our digital world
How can we reduce the inequalities and harms of commercial social media and the online world, while building spaces that better support our human need to connect and communicate?
European Commission: TikTok’s addictive design breaches EU law Original
The European Commission (EC) has preliminarily found that TikTok’s addictive design features violate the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA). The preliminary decision outlines how addictive design features on the platform, such as infinite scroll and autoplay, are resulting in users going into “autopilot mode”, with the EC stating this may lead to “compulsive use”.
I confronted a tech boss about my sister’s suicide. I don’t know why I bothered
When I decided to go to Davos this year, I didn’t have many ambitions other than to make my voice heard. I know that the World Economic Forum is a hotspot for the richest one per cent, the most powerful people on the planet, and corporate interests. The vast majority of us are not represented or even spared a thought in these spaces, and that’s why I felt it all the more necessary to attend, despite the exorbitant cost.
I lost my sister to online harms, the OSA is failing vulnerable people
By Published: 31 Jul 2025 When my sister Aimee died, our family had never felt so alone. But sadly, we quickly realised we weren’t alone. So many others had died in a similar way. My sister even connected with a US man on there who flew to the UK to be with her when she died. The forum is not on the dark web, it is hosted openly and is widely available for people to view, to talk and get caught up in a rabbit hole of intense harm.
Until I lost my sister, I never knew the scale of risk that exists for young people online
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My sister took her life after online abuse at 21 - I will never be the same
If my sister Aimee and I were a Venn diagram, the internet was our intersecting centre. We grew up in Southampton and spent every summer in north Turkey, in the small coastal village Edincik, where our mum is from. While we shared the same interests – music, fashion and food – our tastes were different, and online was where they flourished. I always loved second-hand clothes, having practically been raised in charity shops.
Logging Off: The Human Cost of Our Digital World
'You won't look at your screens in the same way after reading this book' Grace Blakeley, author of VULTURE CAPITALISM 'Logging Off is a life-saving book' Mikaela Loach, author of IT'S NOT THAT RADICAL 'A harrowing but important read' Carole Cadwalladr We live in a digital world. In the 30 years since we've been online, we've created connections, crossed boundaries and discovered new worlds. We have done things generations before us could never have imagined. But at what cost?
The Renter’s Rights Bill and The Dehumanisation of Tenants
April 29, 2025 4 min read Kara Leigh The Renters Rights Bill promises to redress the balance of power between tenants and landlords. It could finally lead to a transformation of renting in the UK, abolishing Section 21, (no-fault evictions) and apply the Decent Homes Standard, as well as limiting rent increases. But progress is being stalled. The Shadow Housing Minister, Jane Scott recently met with landlords and estate agents to delay the Bill, by forcing debates on multiple amendments.
Meta settles lawsuit over surveillance business model
Meta has agreed for the first time to stop using the personal data of a specific individual for targeted advertising, as part of a negotiated settlement with human rights campaigner Tanya O’Carroll. Launched in November 2022, O’Carroll’s lawsuit alleged the technology conglomerate was ignoring her legal right to object to the processing and continued use of her personal data for targeted advertising on its Facebook service.
Adolescence is a Timely Wake-Up Call on Toxic Masculinity and Online Radicalisation
March 19, 2025 4 min read Nasra Ayub I always enjoy a good thriller drama from Netflix, especially when an actor whose work I admire is involved both on and off-screen. That’s why I was eager to watch Adolescence, the new hit series co-created by the brilliant Stephen Graham. The show follows Jamie, a 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate. Initially, I thought this would be a classic whodunnit—a suspenseful mystery leading to a dramatic reveal in the final episode. Oh, was I wrong.
EU law could usher in transformative change to digital ecosystems
An ambitious digital future: breaking up Big Tech Some believe the DFA could potentially break up the monopolies within the tech industry seen across some of the Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), which the DSA defines as platforms or search engines that have more than 45 million users per month in the EU. Instead, they advocate for a digital ecosystem that allows independent, third-party content curation and moderation services.
Assisted Dying: Great In Principle, But In This Economy?
November 22, 2024 4 min read The Bill has gained support from across the political spectrum, but how empowering is it in action? Dayna Latham The Prime Minister has promised a free vote on the latest iteration of an Assisted Dying Bill, brought to the House of Commons via a Private Members Bill. Starmer has emphasised that there is no pressure on MPs to vote one way or another. Set to be debated and voted on the 29th of November, the Bill would need further debates and votes before it becomes law.
Islamophobic governments have a new weapon: Artificial intelligence and algorithms are the new surveillance state
In today’s digital age, most decision-making processes are left to the hands of computers and artificial intelligence. From bosses to teachers to doctors, those in positions of power routinely use digital tools to reduce their work and speed things up. But in the hands of authoritarian governments, this increasing efficiency is being weaponised against vulnerable populations.
Off White: The Truth About Antisemistism: Q&A with author and journalist Rachel Shabi
November 08, 2024 7 min read Today, we hear a lot about antisemitism. It’s been discussed in relation to party politics here in the UK and has been increasingly referred to during the Israeli military attacks on Gaza, The West Bank and Lebanon abroad. There’s lots of discourse on the topic, but often it feels confusing, empty, one dimensional, shallow, said in bad faith or a divisive wedge that obfuscates rather than sheds much light on this centuries old prejudice.
Kenyan workers win High Court appeal to take Meta to trial
Despite the company arguing that Kenyan courts have no jurisdiction over an American company, the Nairobi High Court has ruled that Meta must face more than 180 content moderators and data labellers in court over allegedly poor working conditions, negative mental health impacts, and loss of pay By Adele Walton Published: 24 Oct 2024 In September 2024, the Nairobi Court of Appeal ruled that two cases brought by 185 former Facebook and Instagram content moderators against Meta – one over...
Technology has transformed the back-to-school experience
Technology is changing the face of education and the student experience. At a surface level, this can be seen in what kids are taking to school with them. Where previous generations were packing their bags to the brim with pencil cases, notebooks, textbooks and hand-written coursework, students today are digital-first — laptops and tablets replacing their analogue counterparts. While going digital-first certainly helps lighten the physical load, it also presents challenges.
The cloud is filled with carbon
The recent wave of international solidarity with Palestine has shone light on other global struggles, encouraging us to recognise our interconnectedness with those across the world. In a time of climate crisis, this sense of unity could not be more urgent.
Logging Off
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Logging Off by Adele Zeynep Walton
'You won't look at your screens in the same way after reading this book' Grace Blakeley, author of VULTURE CAPITALISM 'Logging Off is a life-saving book' Mikaela Loach, author of IT'S NOT THAT RADICAL 'A harrowing but important read' Carole Cadwalladr We live in a digital world. In the 30 years since we've been online, we've created connections, crossed boundaries and discovered new worlds. We have done things generations before us could never have imagined. But at what cost?
Pipeline to genocide: BP’s oil route to Israel
By Energy Embargo for Palestine and Heedayah Lockman · September 9, 2024 Energy Embargo for Palestine, an anti-imperialist climate group based in Britain, break down the role of BP and the British state in fuelling the Zionist genocide. This investigation was carried out between shado and Energy Embargo for Palestine over a 4 month period, made possible thanks to the support of the Guerrilla Foundation. Listen to this story Your browser does not support the audio element.
I moved to a sleepy town with few people my age. My new friends – some elderly – have changed my life
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
The Society of the Spectacle
The fleeting nature of content and virality can trick us into thinking this video will all be forgotten within a day, and maybe for the watcher, but for the watched, this becomes inscribed into their digital footprint forever.
The tech businesses remaking our digital world
As it stands, the digital world is a paradox. It seems we’re divided into two distinct camps — being its biggest champions, or your personal grievances with the online world being ignored completely. Innovation remains largely gate-kept by those at the top, and increasingly whether we are allowed to thrive online depends on the daily mood swings and impulses of tech bros.
The rise of little brother in the digital age
Many of us are aware that being watched is no longer an Orwellian paranoia, but a contract we’re signed into when using and consenting to digital technology. The transformation of digital technology has been widely recognised for its ability to track, document and observe trends. But what this means for us collectively is that surveillance methods are routinely seized and weaponised by those in power.
Want to learn what it takes to be an activist? AWETHU are teaching young people just that
July 29, 2024 6 min read We spoke to Mikaela Loach, co-founder of AWETHU school of organising about the importance of political education for young people, the role of community in tackling issues that shape our lives, and the transformative potential of collective organising. Adele: What is Awethu? Mikaela: Awethu is the Awethu School of Organising and we’re a transformative educational initiative and we are based on Black liberation and climate justice.
Kwajo Tweneboa: ‘I feel like I’ve become the people’s MP’
The 25-year-old tenant rights activist speaks to Dazed to mark the release of his debut book, Our Country in Crisis Experiencing homelessness as a teenager was completely out of Kwajo Tweneboa’s control. But after finally getting social housing that his family so vitally needed, his family were let down once again. The place they had hoped to call home was full of mice, cockroaches, covered in damp and mould.
Year of super elections: AI's the word on everyone's lips
Former wartime French President Charles de Gaulle once said, ‘Politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.’ In the run-up to the UK general election in July, some candidates are taking this sentiment to heart. Technology is creeping its way into the political landscape. Steve Endacott, a Brighton-based businessman, is running in the UK general election using an AI representative, aptly named AI Steve.
I thought I'd get the job. Then I found out my interviewer was an AI chatbot
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
I thought I'd get the job. Then I found out my interviewer was an AI chatbot
Microsoft Cares About Your Privacy Microsoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Social media users are bypassing censorship on Palestine
In the wake of Israel’s assault on Gaza, since 7 October many social media users trying to build cross-border solidarity for Palestine have used creative means to avoid censorship from tech giants like Meta and TikTok.
Why 'slightly' is the most terrifying word for marketers scared of AI
In Scott Galloway’s most recent No Mercy/No Malice blog he talks about the threats to Hollywood, and towards the end he mentions the threat of AI. ‘Bangkok-based directors aren’t the only ones coming for Hollywood jobs — so is AI. The industry is a cornucopia of AI use cases. You could spend $80,000 on a good sound designer, or you could spend $1,000 for an annual subscription to an AI tool that does slightly inferior work. Slightly.
Banking: to bot... or not?
Managing customer inquiries with speed and agility is a key priority when handling financial transactions. Zendesk, a service-first CRM company states in its CX Trends Report 2023 that customers of all ages are open to using chatbots and AI if it provides speedier resolution for their problems. Respondents said in the previous year’s report that 71 % believe AI/bots help get faster replies. Indeed, this is what Chatbots can provide. 24/7/356.
Unshrinking: how to detox from fatphobia
In her new book Unshrinking, Kate Manne explores the systemic nature of fatphobia and how we can unlearn the damaging body standards we are taught from a young age In the past week, five per cent of teenage girls have used a harmful weight-loss product without a prescription from a doctor. That’s one in 20. We live in a society that places a significant amount of value on thinness, and it’s clear the pressure to adhere to this ideal starts young.
Beyond shadowbanning: Facebook, Insta posts won't save Gaza
Beyond shadowbanning: Facebook posts can't liberate Palestine Opinion: Shadow-banning of pro-Palestine solidarity is a feature, not a bug in Meta's platforms. It's time to rethink activism on platforms like Facebook Social media platforms controlled by Big Tech led by the likes of Meta, owner of Facebook are back to their old game of censoring activism for causes that do not align with their commercial interests or go against the 'red lines' of the dominant political class.
How does misogyny differ for trans women?
Ahead of the release of her new book, A Short History of Trans Misogyny, we speak to historian Jules Gill-Peterson about how society grew so hostile towards trans women – and how we can challenge this insidious offshoot of transphobia In recent years, the ‘trans panic’ has become increasingly prevalent in mainstream political narratives in both the UK and US, with politicians unabashedly pursuing anti-trans policies and spreading harmful transphobic rhetoric.
Ask the right questions
This piece below is an excerpt from Allen P. Adamson’s book, Seeing the How: Transforming What People Do, Not Buy, To Gain Market Advantage (2023). Asking the right questions, involves more than just, well, asking questions. Making sure the questions come from different areas and approaches is key. Many years ago, I worked with Pizza Hut on its branding. Business was pretty good, and we were doing research on how to strengthen the brand further.
My family’s olive groves are a legacy passed down through generations
It is believed that many of the olive trees in Edincik, my mother’s village in the Marmara region of north-west Turkey, date back to the era of Greek antiquity. However, olive farming, a business my family has been in since the early 1900s, truly flourished during the time of the Ottoman empire. Being half-Turkish and half-British, my sister and I had only ever visited Turkey for summer holidays as children.
Q&A: the archaic Silicon Valley model and techno-solutionism
On a sunny day at Brand Week Istanbul MediaCat Magazine‘s Business Editor, Selin Ozkan, sat with Dutch media theorist, media activist, internet critic and author, Geert Lovink, to discuss social networks, the AI revolution and the future of media. It’s not so much if I like them or not. My main field of study is the devastating aspect of [social media], especially on the mental health of young people. For us, it is not necessary to be on the social media platforms themselves.
How eyeliner became a symbol of political resistance
In her new book Eyeliner: A Cultural History, Zahra Hankir traces the evolution of eyeliner and the significance it has come to hold around the world 15 As a child, one of Zahra Hankir’s favourite pastimes was watching her mother apply her eyeliner. “Liquid liner to her lids and kohl along her waterlines,” she recalls. With six children and “the world’s weight on her shoulders” having fled civil war in Lebanon, Hankir reflects that her mother seemed to be “surrounded by constant chaos”.
Do we really need AI?
If I had to choose one book I’d recommend to anyone who is interested in the future of AI, it would be Unmasking AI by Joy Buolamwini. Coincidentally, I had been lucky enough to read an advance copy ahead of the AI Summit earlier this month. The long-awaited event brought together business people, world leaders, think tanks and NGOs with the common goal of ensuring that we harness the potential of AI for good.
Emma Dabiri: ‘Beauty culture is a reflection of our political climate’
Ahead of the release of her new book Disobedient Bodies, we spoke to the author about finding joy in spirituality and capitalism’s impact on women’s self-image How do our surroundings determine our relationship with our body image? Growing up Irish and Nigerian, author and broadcaster Emma Dabiri’s concept of beauty has long been defined by Eurocentric standards and what was deemed most desirable at the time (big boobs and a thigh gap).
Naomi Klein on why everything feels so uncanny right now
To mark the release of her new book, Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World, the journalist discusses how and why people go down the rabbit hole When author and political activist Naomi Klein started to realise that she was being mistaken both in person and online for radical right-wing activist and conspiracy theorist Naomi Wolf, her reality was sent into a tailspin.
Why university staff are still on strike
British universities are revered on the international academic stage. Our institutions rank as the best in the world for subjects ranging from humanities to sports science, and they contribute around £95 billion to the UK economy. But although MPs value them as financial assets, years of government cuts and increasing job insecurity for university staff has led to deteriorating standards of education, student dissatisfaction and staff burnout.
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