Social media giants are ‘fuelling’ violence in teenagers as two-thirds of children have watched fights and other violent content online, study finds

• A survey of children revealed nearly two-thirds had been shown real-life fights 

Social media giants are ‘fuelling’ violence among teenagers as millions admit they have watched it on platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, a major study has found.

A survey of children revealed nearly two-thirds had been shown real-life fights, posts threatening to beat people up, and content ‘promoting’ carrying weapons.

One in four of the 7,500 respondents said they had viewed misogynistic content that encouraged assault or harassment against women, with many admitting it was recommended to them by the app’s algorithm.

When asked why young people commit acts of violence in their local area, nearly half said they thought social media was largely to blame. More than half of adults polled agreed.

Given the chance, a third of teens said they would switch off social media for everyone.

A survey of children revealed nearly two-thirds had been shown real-life fights, posts threatening to beat people up, and content ‘promoting’ carrying weapons (File image) 

The findings, published today by the Government-backed charity, the Youth Endowment Fund, come just weeks after the Online Safety Act became law. This gives Ofcom the power to fine social media firms billions of pounds if they fail to protect users from harmful and illegal content and even send bosses to prison.

The study by the fund found the worst platform by some margin was TikTok. Nearly half of teens said they had watched real-life violence on the video-sharing site.

The survey revealed 60 per cent of respondents overall had seen real-life violence on social media, equating to two million schoolchildren across England and Wales.

The most common form of violence viewed was footage of fights between young people, with nearly half – 48 per cent – watching this.

A third said they had seen posts and messages threatening to beat someone up, and another third had seen content showing people ‘carrying, promoting or using’ weapons.

Teenage children also reported that social media platforms were ‘fuelling the spread of potentially harmful and misogynistic content’ (File image) 

Teenage children also reported that social media platforms were ‘fuelling the spread of potentially harmful and misogynistic content’.

More than a quarter had seen videos or posts that encouraged or showed assault, harassment or behaviour that might lead to women and girls suffering physical, sexual or psychological harm. Asked how they found this material, 27 per cent said a platform had suggested it.

And more than a third of teens said they would prefer to live their lives free from social media

Jon Yates, executive director at the YEF, said: ‘Social media companies need to wake up. It is completely unacceptable to promote violent content to children. Children want it to stop. Children shouldn’t be exposed to footage of fights, threats or so-called ‘influencers’ peddling misogynistic propaganda. This type of content can easily stoke tension between individuals and groups, and lead to boys having misguided and unhealthy attitudes towards girls, women and relationships.

‘As a society, we have a duty to help children live their lives free from violence, both offline and online.’

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