"An 11-year-old girl described an experience online: "There's peer pressure to pretend it's funny. You feel uncomfortable on the inside, but pretend it's funny on the outside." Was she talking about a specific video? No. She was describing her relationship with violent content on social media. Content she encounters daily. Content the algorithms serve her whether she wants it or not."
"A 15-year-old boy was more direct: "There are kids giving self-harm tips. How to hurt yourself really badly, how to self-harm without your parents knowing or how to hide it." These aren't outliers. According to research commissioned by Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, children across age groups describe violent and harmful content as "unavoidable" online. Not occasional. Not rare. Unavoidable. That word matters."
Children describe violent and harmful content as unavoidable online, encountering it daily because algorithms serve such material regardless of preference. Exposure includes peer pressure to feign amusement and explicit self-harm tips that teach concealment and severe injury. Per self-determination theory, autonomy is a basic psychological need alongside competence and relatedness. Autonomy requires experiences of understanding and choice within clear boundaries. Transparent, relationship-based boundaries help children internalize rules and develop judgment and competence. For example, a visible rule such as "You can't cross the street alone because cars are dangerous" provides a clear rationale children can understand and internalize. Systemic algorithmic exposure undermines perceived control, producing psychological harm beyond disturbing content itself.
Read at Psychology Today
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