Children are too isolated, says Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo, the author, has warned that children are becoming more isolated because of the overuse of social media.

Children’s “experience of life” was often limited to technology, which had created such a strong culture that they stopped talking to other people, the former Children’s Laureate said. He added that “used properly” new technology could have extraordinary benefits, but he warned: “Incidence of depression and mental illness are increasing … Isolation is the main culprit when it comes to mental illness and it is not helped by social media.”

Morpurgo, 73, who has written more than 100 children’s books including War Horse, is holding a fund-raising event on May 3 at the Royal Geographical Society in London for his charity Farms For City Children. “The children get involved with the milking, they lamb, dig potatoes, help with hay making, they do everything that’s useful to the farmer.”

He said: “Every child in the country should have experience of this kind.”