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'I felt sick': The harrowing content TikTok posts to 13yo girls revealed

Author
Anna Leask,
Publish Date
Sun, 24 Nov 2024, 10:08am

'I felt sick': The harrowing content TikTok posts to 13yo girls revealed

Author
Anna Leask,
Publish Date
Sun, 24 Nov 2024, 10:08am

WARNING: This article discusses suicide and may be upsetting to some readers.

It took 22 minutes for harrowing suicide-related content to appear in the 鈥渇or you鈥� feed of a new TikTok account set up for a 13-year-old girl.

The account鈥檚 creator - a Christchurch documentary maker researching social media for a project - described what she saw as 鈥渄isturbing, discombobulating and gross鈥�.

Nadia Maxwell is now calling on social media companies to be much stricter on what young users are exposed to on their apps.

鈥淚t was quite shocking鈥� I felt so gross,鈥� she said.

Christchurch documentary maker Nadia Maxwell. Photo / George Heard
Christchurch documentary maker Nadia Maxwell. Photo / George Heard

Maxwell set up pages on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat posing as a 13-year-old girl as an 鈥渆xperiment鈥� to better understand how the apps worked.

鈥淚 feel like we hear a lot about the disturbing content out there on social media but that most parents probably have a limited understanding of what is actually on there - myself included,鈥� she explained.

鈥淲here prompted, I gave my interests as things that my own teenage girls like: animals, health and fitness and Taylor Swift.

鈥淚 actively searched using words like kittens and netball to reinforce to the algorithm the harmless content I was seeking.

鈥淚t took 22 minutes and 15 seconds for TikTok to show me the first suicide-related video.鈥�

In the days that followed, more graphic posts appeared in the feed - including content about murder, child abuse and violent crime.

TikTok says its For You Page (FYP) is a 鈥減ersonalised feed of content based on your interests and engagement鈥� and 鈥渨ill reflect your interests and show you creators and content you鈥檙e likely to enjoy鈥�.

鈥淚t was a very, very harrowing experiment,鈥� Maxwell said.

鈥淚 was trying to redirect the algorithm. When the content got too heavy, I would type in something like 鈥榯iny farm animals鈥� or 鈥榥etball鈥�.

鈥淏ut by day three, none of that was in the FYP.

鈥淚t was also quite emotionally confusing. You watch suicide-related video, but then it鈥檚 followed by a lip sync or a funny video, so it鈥檚 quite discombobulating. You don鈥檛 actually have any time to mentally process what you鈥檝e just seen.

鈥淎nd that鈥檚 me coming at it as an adult with a whole lifetime of experience to draw on. So what must it be doing to the brains of 11-year-old kids?鈥�

TikTok has at least 2.05 billion users and the app has grown faster than most other social media apps. Bay of Plenty Times Photo / Alex Cairns
TikTok has at least 2.05 billion users and the app has grown faster than most other social media apps. Bay of Plenty Times Photo / Alex Cairns

Maxwell鈥檚 project is ongoing but she told the Herald she feels 鈥渃ompelled鈥� to share her TikTok experience.

鈥淭hese kids have got a portal in their pocket to the digital world and it鈥檚 an unrealistic expectation on parents that they should be able to monitor every minute,鈥� she said.

鈥淎n 11-year-old kid can just stumble upon this stuff on TikTok any minute of the day.鈥�

Christchurch documentary-maker Nadia Maxwell carried out experiments on social media apps to see what content is being recommended to young users. Photo / George Heard
Christchurch documentary-maker Nadia Maxwell carried out experiments on social media apps to see what content is being recommended to young users. Photo / George Heard

鈥楧istorted version of reality鈥�

According to TikTok鈥檚 user guidelines, the more a person uses the app the more their FYP page will reflect their interests.

Interest is gauged, in part, by how and how long a person engages with a particular piece of content.

Users can apply filters to remove content containing specific words and their variations from their feeds.

And there are other ways to restrict content that is not 鈥渃omfortable鈥�.

A TikTok spokesperson told the Herald in a statement the app had clear guidelines about content, and automated technology removed 80% of videos that were in violation of those - 98.2% of those 鈥減roactively before a user report鈥�.

He said some videos reported may not violate the guidelines.

Measures were in place too, to recognise younger users, he said.

TikTok policy requires users to be 13 or older to have an account.

鈥淥ur in-built safety features recognise that people develop at different stages. Teens aged 13-15 will experience a more strictly controlled version of TikTok than those aged 16-17, and young people aged 16-17 will have a different experience to an adult,鈥� the spokesperson said.

鈥淥ur Family Pairing tools put parents and guardians in control of their teens' accounts, including how much time they can spend online, and the type of content they can see.鈥�

All users could put their account into restricted mode, which prevents any content that 鈥渕ay not be comfortable... such as content that contains mature or complex themes鈥� from appearing on their feed.

TikTok says users of different ages have a different experience on the app. Photo / TikTok
TikTok says users of different ages have a different experience on the app. Photo / TikTok

If people search for content related to suicide or self-harm on the app, they are shown intervention and support information from organisations like Lifeline Aotearoa or Youthline Helpline.

Cybersafety specialist John Parsons said exposure to social media at a young age led to 鈥渓ost childhoods鈥�.

鈥淎 young person鈥檚 brain is designed to absorb vast amounts of information and experiences during childhood. These early experiences significantly shape and inform the decisions and interests that young people make/have as they grow.

鈥淐hildren鈥檚 developing brains should not be exposed to social media platforms like TikTok,鈥� he told the Herald.

Parsons said social media 鈥渙ften represents a distorted version of reality鈥� which was harmful to young people.

鈥淓ndless scrolling fosters dopamine-chasing behaviours and increases stress. This can lead to self-doubt and in my experience, particularly around ages 12 and 13, leave children struggling with anxiety.鈥�

Parsons said New Zealand needed to 鈥済et serious about the issue鈥�.

鈥淭he Government needs to step in and sanction platforms that store harmful content within their databases - content that can be retrieved by algorithms designed to exploit user preferences,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hese algorithms not only cater to a user鈥檚 existing interests but, in my opinion, expand them in potentially harmful ways.

鈥淥ne potential solution is to remove algorithm-driven content recommendations for users under 18, allowing young people the freedom to explore content organically without being influenced by stored data and targeted suggestions.鈥� Australia鈥檚 government introduced a law to parliament this week proposing to ban children under 16 from social media and threatening multimillion-dollar fines for companies which don鈥檛 comply. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the pervasive influence of platforms like Facebook and TikTok is 鈥渄oing real harm to our kids鈥�.

Anna Leask is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for 18 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence, homicides, mental health and youth crime. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on 

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION


Where to get help:
鈥� : Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
鈥� : Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
鈥� Youth services: (06) 3555 906
鈥� : Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
鈥� : Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
鈥� : Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
鈥� Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
鈥� : Call or text 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111

SEXUAL HARM

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact  confidentially, any time 24/7:
鈥� Call 0800 044 334
鈥� Text 4334
鈥� Email support@safetotalk.nz
鈥� For more info or to web chat visit 
Alternatively contact your local police station - 

If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

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