At the turn of the century, digital technology seemed on the verge of realising the Enlightenment dream: escape from the human condition. By connecting enough people and sharing enough information, we would collectively shine light into darkness, ushering in a new age of liberty, democracy, self expression and collective harmony. The Web’s early pioneers stood back and marvelled at the harmonious global club that we had created, open to anyone, welcoming to all, and free of centralised control.

And yet, despite all of this promise, we are today beset by a host of digital ailments: addiction by design, trolls, ubiquitous surveillance, state sponsored hacking, election tampering, hate speech, filter bubbles, fake news, alternate facts, rampant nationalism, AI-driven obsolescence and a rising tide of misogyny.

Maneuvered by outsized economic forces, our humanity has been steadily skewed, distorted and twisted. For the most part we’ve barely registered the change, enraptured as we are by the bright glow of our screens. Nonetheless, the impact of this shift is evident in a collective decline in our mental health, a sense of fragility and of disconnection, particularly in our young.

It’s time for a change, time for a new digital technology story, one that alerts us to the dangers at hand, and prompts us to ask that most difficult of questions: how might we, as educators, respond?