According to a study by Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) done in England and Wales, violence on social media is becoming the biggest reason why teens are afraid to go out of their houses. Many teenagers see real-life violence like fist fighting, gang fighting and stabbing on different social media sites. TikTok is the top app that shows violence, followed by X. Many laws are being imposed and tech companies are given warnings that if they won’t age-check the audience to prevent any age-inappropriate content, they will have to pay heavy fines.
The study found that 8 out of 10 (68%) teenagers in the survey said that they feel unsafe to go out in their local area after seeing violence on social media. One in ten teenagers also said that they have seen weapons such as zombie knives on social media too. The chief executive of YEF, Jon Yates, says that all the social media companies should really think of this seriously. Teenagers are now afraid to go out because of the violent content they are seeing on those social media apps.
Social media is full of violence, from clips about violence to songs about violence, and teens are not safe from these types of content. It is making teenagers anxious, and some of them are even becoming violent themselves. Even though one in three teenagers have seen weapons on social media, there are also teenagers who carry weapons with them (1 in 20 teenagers). The ongoing cases of violence in England and Wales also do not help with this fear of going out in teenagers. Teenagers who use Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat have also seen violent content on these platforms (33%).
TikTok says that they have prohibited more than 96% of videos on the platform showing violent content and it also restricts inappropriate content for children. X hasn’t responded to this yet. Facebook and Snapchat also commented and said that they strictly prohibit any violent content to keep their platforms safe for all audiences. The study also found that social media is helping to make gang violence a part of some culture. The study also found that black boys (78%) are more likely to see violent content online than white boys (69%). Boys (32%) are also more likely to support banning mobiles in schools than girls (27%).
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The study found that 8 out of 10 (68%) teenagers in the survey said that they feel unsafe to go out in their local area after seeing violence on social media. One in ten teenagers also said that they have seen weapons such as zombie knives on social media too. The chief executive of YEF, Jon Yates, says that all the social media companies should really think of this seriously. Teenagers are now afraid to go out because of the violent content they are seeing on those social media apps.
Social media is full of violence, from clips about violence to songs about violence, and teens are not safe from these types of content. It is making teenagers anxious, and some of them are even becoming violent themselves. Even though one in three teenagers have seen weapons on social media, there are also teenagers who carry weapons with them (1 in 20 teenagers). The ongoing cases of violence in England and Wales also do not help with this fear of going out in teenagers. Teenagers who use Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat have also seen violent content on these platforms (33%).
TikTok says that they have prohibited more than 96% of videos on the platform showing violent content and it also restricts inappropriate content for children. X hasn’t responded to this yet. Facebook and Snapchat also commented and said that they strictly prohibit any violent content to keep their platforms safe for all audiences. The study also found that social media is helping to make gang violence a part of some culture. The study also found that black boys (78%) are more likely to see violent content online than white boys (69%). Boys (32%) are also more likely to support banning mobiles in schools than girls (27%).
Read next:
• Which Economies Are Leading the Charge in Global Innovation?
• Smaller Browsers Poised for Growth as DOJ Demands Google Sell Chrome
