Review of Logging Off: The Human Cost of Our Digital World by Adele Zeynap Walton

Out of the depths of personal tragedy comes a debut non-fiction that will change the way you think about your phone. Adele Zeynap Walton lost her teenage sister to suicide after she had been exposed to harmful groups online. In the years since, Adele has campaigned for better online safety for all and this book is an eye-opening deep dive into our broken relationship with the online world and what we can do to fix it. 

Looking at all sides from Big Tech and how they use our data, to addictive algorithms, fake news, personal safety and mental health, there is something vital in each chapter. I was particularly engrossed by Adele’s ruminations around online misogyny and the pervasiveness of eating disorder encouragement in online spaces. Both are topics which I saw emerging when I was a teen and had hoped might miraculously be better for the younger generation now...turns out we need to be more concerned than ever. But this is not a book that focuses only on protecting young people. It highlights how tech has infiltrated every aspect of our lives and, in many cases exascerbated the problems we had in the offline world already. Adele writes critically of our lapses in personal safety in the era of the ‘smart house’ and on capitalism’s new face as digital spyware changes our working landscape and employment rights. With reference to further reading and shocking statistics, it made me realise how we are very much on the precipice of something huge. One of the more heartwarming parts of the book is when Adele speaks of meeting an eldery man called Tony following his ad in the paper for someone to teach him how to use his smartphone. In a new world where we are expected to book doctor’s appointments, manage our money and access civic services all online, this chapter shines a light on the digital divide and how the services designed to help people are actually leaving behind the most vulnerable. This is a book I would urge everyone to read and one I think we’re sure to look back on in years to come as, hopefully, one of the starting points for a tech revolution.

Reviewed by Abi

Published on 05/06/25 by Orion

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