On one of the hottest English days on record, a food critic attended an ice cream party in a flat overlooking the canal in Camden. The host, a journalist on a rival magazine, had spent the night making custards – the traditional base of most ice creams – and then churning them in the heat. The ice cream machine was Italian and commercial grade, bought second-hand. Across town in De Beauvoir Town, the wine and ice cream bar the Dreamery was busy even in December, serving natural wine to customers who, the critic noted, were 'so thin it is hard to believe they have ever had a scoop of ice cream'.
While ice cream enjoys a moment, a different debate is heating up. Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation, has seen his book influence countries to ban smartphones in schools and restrict social media for under-16s. But the political Right has been sceptical, worried about a 'papers please' internet and lost anonymity. Haidt, in an interview with UnHerd's Freddie Sayers, addressed those concerns directly. He acknowledged that in the UK, where 'governments for many years now [have been] arresting people in mass numbers for tweets', the Right's distrust of regulation is understandable. He argued that his proposed measures are 'design-based solutions' focusing on platform features like constant notifications, rather than content restrictions. 'Whenever people think about regulation, their mind jumps to "the government is going to judge speech" – that is a nightmare for free speech,' Haidt said.
“On a record-hot day, an ice cream party in Camden contrasts with Haidt's call for design-based social media bans.”
The contrast between a frivolous ice cream party and a serious debate over children's digital well-being captures the breadth of a British summer.