We live in a world that is seemingly spilling over with hate and division at the moment. You don't have to look far to find it.

Just in the past few days, you've got this 19-year-old Isis inspired terror suspect, planning to kill himself and as many Taylor Swift fans as possible.

There's rioting and division on the streets of the UK. Australia has raised it's terror threat level.

Remember that 16-year-old teenager who stabbed a religious cleric in Australia, suspected religious extremism behind it.

You've got Trump's assassination attempt, remember this was only last month.

It's almost like we've forgotten about that, because there's so much going on.

They all have one thing in common - The internet.

This 19-year-old is I would be mass murderer, he and his two alleged teenage accomplices, they were serious. They had chemical explosives, detonators allegedly, they were radicalised online.

The UK riots, fuelled by false information about that stabbing suspect.

They were all racked up, fired up by being on the internet.

Where did it all happen? Online.

Remember those seven teenagers arrested in April in Australia for alleged extremist ideology - all happened online.

I could go on, but you get the point. Young impressionable minds, endless scrolling on social media and it's the wild west of content.

Every kid has a mental health problem these days. Have you noticed that? Turn on the news, everyone's sad.

And it's obvious, isn't it? The internet. Our phones.

And what are we doing about it? 

This is what happens when you scroll on a phone and you argue with somebody and you don't look them in the eye. You don't talk to them face to face.

You don't moderate your thoughts with body language and facial expressions and all those important things that I think help to make our debates a bit more human.

We lose all that when we go online and when we scroll endlessly. Apparently we will spend between 10 years and 17 years of our lives scrolling on our phones. How sad is that? And for kids it's worse.

What have I done about it? Well, I've deleted the social media apps, and not that I'm saying I'm going to solve the world, but I'm just seeing if I'll feel better about the world.

And I wonder why more people aren't doing it.

Maybe you are.

LISTEN ABOVE

We live in a world that is seemingly spilling over with hate and division at the moment. You don't have to look far to find it. 
Just in the past few days, you've got this 19-year-old Isis inspired terror suspect, planning to kill himself and as many Taylor Swift fans as possible. 
There's rioting and division on the streets of the UK. Australia has raised it's terror threat level. 
Remember that 16-year-old teenager who stabbed a religious cleric in Australia, suspected religious extremism behind it. 
You've got Trump's assassination attempt, remember this was only last month. 
It's almost like we've forgotten about that, because there's so much going on. 
They all have one thing in common - The internet. 
This 19-year-old is I would be mass murderer, he and his two alleged teenage accomplices, they were serious. They had chemical explosives, detonators allegedly, they were radicalised online. 
The UK riots, fuelled by false information about that stabbing suspect. 
They were all racked up, fired up by being on the internet. 
Where did it all happen? Online. 
Remember those seven teenagers arrested in April in Australia for alleged extremist ideology - all happened online. 
I could go on, but you get the point. Young impressionable minds, endless scrolling on social media and it's the wild west of content. 
Every kid has a mental health problem these days. Have you noticed that? Turn on the news, everyone's sad. 
And it's obvious, isn't it? The internet. Our phones. 
And what are we doing about it?  
This is what happens when you scroll on a phone and you argue with somebody and you don't look them in the eye. You don't talk to them face to face. 
You don't moderate your thoughts with body language and facial expressions and all those important things that I think help to make our debates a bit more human. 
We lose all that when we go online and when we scroll endlessly. Apparently we will spend between 10 years and 17 years of our lives scrolling on our phones. How sad is that? And for kids it's worse. 
What have I done about it? Well, I've deleted the social media apps, and not that I'm saying I'm going to solve the world, but I'm just seeing if I'll feel better about the world. 
And I wonder why more people aren't doing it. 
Maybe you are. 
LISTEN ABOVE

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

A fresh and intelligent start to your day - catch the very latest international and domestic news developments, sport, entertainment and business on Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, on Newstalk ZB.

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