In this episode, R explores a reality that sets today's children apart from every previous generation: they have never known a world without smartphones and screens. Unlike the arrival of radio, television, or even the early internet, there is no collective memory of "before" for kids born after 2012.

The numbers are striking. Children aged 8 to 18 now average seven and a half hours of daily screen time. Attention spans on digital devices have plummeted from two and a half minutes in 2004 to just 47 seconds today, according to research from UC Irvine. Nearly half of preschoolers already own a tablet.

R examines why the common rebuttal of "people said the same thing about TV" falls short. Unlike television, smartphones are interactive, algorithmic, personalized, and socially mandatory. More than a dozen countries have now moved to ban or restrict phone use in schools, from France and Sweden to Brazil and South Korea.

The episode closes with a reflection on what it means to be the last generation with a memory of life before screens, and why that perspective is something worth preserving and passing on.

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