The Independent solicits donations to fund on-the-ground reporting covering topics from reproductive rights and climate change to Big Tech, and rejects paywalls to keep reporting accessible. A 14-year-old transgender teenager, Brianna Ghey, became increasingly affected by smartphone addiction, leading to school trouble, mental-health struggles, an eating disorder, and self-harm. Ms Ghey's mother, Esther, only fully recognised the extent of harmful online content after her daughter's death. Brianna was stabbed to death in a Cheshire park in February 2023. Esther has launched an open letter calling for a statutory ban on phones in schools, with backing from public figures and several MPs.
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
She was always into absolutely everything, her mother Esther said. She was the life and soul of every room, you always knew if Brianna was there. Yet at the age of 14, two years before she was murdered by two fellow teenagers, her behaviour began to drastically change as an addiction to her smartphone began to have a massive negative effect on her life.
Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death in a Cheshire park in February 2023 (Family handout/Cheshire Police) (PA Media) She has now launched an open letter calling for a statutory ban on phones in schools, in a campaign that has received backing from high-profile figures such as actress Kate Winslet, actor Stephen Graham and several MPs. We did all the right things, she told The Independent. We put parental controls on the wifi and on her phone.
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