21. March 2026

Algorithms, social media and young people

I attended some training recently that Included some research on social media. I was shocked but perhaps not surprised to learn that on social media platforms algorithms change based on the date of birth inputted when the account was set up.

I was struck by the potential impact of this. For example, if a 10 year old boy was to have an account and falsely put their age as 13, their algorithm, without them even searching for anything would be presenting misogynistic content that if they give their attention to it will increase the content and further flood their algorithm. With young people getting access to social media earlier means they could have been accessing 5 years of increasingly concerning content by the time they are just 15, that if they spend a great deal of time online can potentially play a large part in shaping their values and how they feel about themselves and others.

At the other end... I know myself I am flooded with products for creams to reduce wrinkles and to 'improve' my overall appearance.

Let's choose to give more attention to cute cats and fluffy animals.... and to really consider the impact of social media algorithms on us and our young people.