Imagine this: it’s 2022, you’re 16, scrolling through social media, minding your own business, and the first thing you see is a cute dog video that makes you go “aww.” But then, WHAM! Out of nowhere, you’re hit with videos of people being hit by cars, some influencer with views that sound like they’re straight out of the Dark Ages, and violent street fights that make you feel like you accidentally joined a fight club. And you’re left thinking, “Why me?” Did I sign up for this? Spoiler: No, you didn’t.
Our story starts with Cai, a 16-year-old who was simply trying to enjoy the fluffy puppies of the internet. But, alas, the algorithm had other plans. From videos of men getting punched in the face to influencers who still seem to think women belong in the kitchen (it’s 2024, people), Cai was thrown into the deep end of social media’s violent ocean. And before you ask, no, this isn’t some apocalyptic dystopia—this is real life.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, Andrew Kaung, an analyst at TikTok, had his own eye-opening experience while working in user safety. He spent 19 months (that’s 19 months too long) from December 2020 to June 2022 trying to understand why teenagers—particularly boys—were being shown content that looked like it was sponsored by Fight Club, Mad Max, and The Misogynist Monthly.
It Stains Your Brain (and Your TikTok Feed)
Let’s face it: social media algorithms are like those terrible friends who give you the worst life advice, except they’re a billion-dollar AI system whose sole purpose is to get you hooked. And Cai was hooked, whether he liked it or not.
When Andrew took a closer look, what he found was more alarming than discovering your milk expired yesterday after already pouring it in your cereal. TikTok’s algorithms were happily feeding some 16-year-old boys a steady diet of videos that belonged more in a Quentin Tarantino film than on a platform filled with dancing teens and cute cat memes.
TikTok, along with its competitor Meta (owners of Instagram and Facebook—basically the godfathers of your social media addiction), uses AI tools to remove harmful content. And while these tools take down a lot of bad stuff before it racks up views, they don’t catch everything. In fact, videos that slip through the AI cracks (and aren’t flagged by users), only get reviewed manually if they hit a certain number of views. In TikTok’s case, that threshold used to be 10,000 views. You can practically hear the sound of those teenage boys going down a rabbit hole filled with content they didn’t ask for.
TikTok and the Fight for Your Feed (Literally)
So, what’s the deal? How does TikTok’s magical algorithm work? According to Andrew, it’s a bit like asking a tiger not to eat you. The algorithm is designed to maximize engagement, and it doesn’t care if that engagement is positive or negative. You could be clicking “not interested” faster than a chicken on an ant colony, but TikTok’s algorithms don’t always care. They’re like that one person who insists on talking about astrology even after you’ve made it clear you couldn’t care less about their rising sign.
Here’s the kicker: while TikTok says their algorithms don’t take gender into account, Andrew found that they pretty much sorted teens into gender categories based on their expressed interests. If you like UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), you might be shown more intense content, like Cai. But if you’re into makeup and pop music, you’ll get served less violent content—though who knows, maybe a lipstick tutorial could escalate into a full-on eyeshadow brawl (weirder things have happened).
This leaves boys like Cai stuck in a loop. One moment, he’s watching a video of a UFC fight, and the next thing he knows, he’s knee-deep in the darkest corners of Instagram and TikTok—corners where the sun doesn’t shine, and violent, misogynistic influencers reign supreme. It’s like he’s in a bad episode of Black Mirror that never ends.
Fighting the Algorithm (Spoiler: It Fights Back)
Cai didn’t just sit back and take it, though. No sir, this boy fought back! (Kind of.) He tried using Instagram’s and TikTok’s tools to block violent and misogynistic content, but it was like trying to plug a leaky dam with a spoon. You might stop some of the flow, but you’re still getting soaked. He commented on posts saying he didn’t like them, un-liked videos he accidentally liked, and even tried switching up his habits to trick the algorithms. But like an over-enthusiastic puppy that just keeps bringing you sticks, the algorithms kept recommending the same content.
“I feel like social media companies don’t respect your opinion as long as it makes them money,” Cai said. And honestly, he’s not wrong. Social media companies like TikTok and Meta aren’t running charity services; they’re profit machines designed to keep your eyeballs glued to the screen—preferably for as long as humanly possible.
Andrew’s take on this? Algorithms are all about engagement, baby! And even if you’re trying to get away from that violent content, spending just a bit too long looking at it (even if out of morbid curiosity) sends signals to the algorithm that scream, “MORE OF THIS, PLEASE!” And then you’re back to where you started, with more violent videos than you can shake a stick at (not that shaking a stick would help).
The Great Algorithmic Divide
So, what’s the solution here? Should teenagers just throw their phones in a lake and return to reading actual books like the old days? (Gross, I know.) Andrew suggests that kids and teens might actually be better off without their smartphones. But Cai isn’t having any of that nonsense. Phones are basically an extension of his arm at this point—he needs them to navigate, chat with friends, and (let’s be real) look up memes.
Rather than banning phones, Cai wants social media companies to pay more attention to what he (and other teens) don’t want to see. You know, listen to their preferences instead of just throwing content at them like they’re in a content dodgeball game. Seems simple, right? Well, as simple as convincing a penguin to wear a tuxedo—slightly ironic but possible.
The Algorithm is Hangry
Here’s where things get a bit more concerning. Almudena Lara, Ofcom’s online safety policy director, explained that companies have been treating children like mini-adults (which is both cute and terrifying). While content aimed at teenage girls that promotes eating disorders or self-harm has (rightly) been in the spotlight, the hate-filled, violence-pushing algorithms targeting boys have been less scrutinized.
And once you’re in the algorithm’s clutches? Good luck getting out. It’s like falling into a hole where the walls are made of bad influencers and violent videos. Every time you try to climb out, the algorithm just hands you a shovel.
The Fight Continues (But with More Tools!)
But wait! There’s hope on the horizon—or at least a small sliver of it. The UK is rolling out a new law that will require social media companies to verify the ages of their users and stop recommending harmful content like porn and violence to kids. It’s about time, considering we’re living in a world where penguins can wear tuxedos, but we can’t seem to stop teenagers from being shown stuff that makes them question their faith in humanity.
By 2025, these new measures will be in place, and companies like TikTok and Meta could face fines or even criminal charges if they fail to keep kids safe. TikTok says they’re already using “innovative technology” and have “industry-leading” safety settings (which sounds fancy but let’s not hold our breath). Meta, ever the responsible corporate entity, claims they have over “50 different tools” to make teens’ online experiences more positive.
Sure, we could always ban phones or go back to the days of writing letters, but as long as social media is here to stay, the fight continues—against the algorithm, the penguins, and whatever else the internet throws at us next.
