Restricting young people’s access to social media, whether through parental controls or legislation, is not the most effective way to address online risks, according to a new Portuguese study that calls instead for stronger regulation of digital platforms and their algorithms.
The warning comes from Mariana Rodrigues, a researcher and assistant professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Porto, who led the first nationwide study to examine young people’s exposure to cyberbullying alongside other harmful online content such as violence, self-harm and suicide.
“These technologies are here to stay. But greater regulation, control and responsibility are needed. The way algorithms work needs to be reviewed,” the assistant professor said in an interview with Lusa.
The study, entitled “Exposure to cyberbullying and other harmful online content among young people in Portugal”, surveyed a representative sample of 2,071 young people aged between 10 and 21 and found that exposure to harmful content is often unintentional. According to the findings, 61.1% of respondents said they had been exposed to violent or self-harm-related material despite never actively searching for it, while 67.1% said they were disturbed by what they encountered online.
Nearly half of respondents (47.2%) said they had witnessed hate speech online, while 45.3% reported seeing violent material. Content depicting drug use reached 39.7% of young people, and more than a third (36.6%) came across information related to self-harm. Material promoting unhealthy eating behaviours reached 35.3% of respondents, while 33% said they had been exposed to sexualised content. Particularly alarming is the fact that almost one in seven young people (14.9%) were exposed to content describing ways to commit suicide.
For the researcher, the core issue lies in how digital platforms operate and how easily harmful content is published and recommended to young users. “One of the most important variables in this equation is the functioning of platforms themselves,” she said.
While emphasising the importance of empowering children and young people to use technology responsibly, Rodrigues stressed that responsibility cannot be shifted away from social media companies. “We must invest in digital literacy and public health, especially in schools. Technology and digitisation is an ongoing process and there is no way to stop it.”
The study also concluded that bans are largely ineffective, as legislative bans fail due to a “huge lack of mechanisms that effectively regulate access for young people by age”, meaning youngsters are often able to find ways to bypass the bans. Meanwhile, parent-imposed bans have also proven equally unsuccessful.
What does make a difference, the study found, is parent involvement. “When parents inform, listen and maintain open communication, there is a statistically significant impact, not only on the prevalence of cyberbullying experiences or exposure to harmful content, but above all, it reduces or mitigates the consequences of these negative experiences, particularly in terms of mental health and psychological well-being,” the researcher explained.
“What we realise is that rules are necessary, but they must be negotiated, not imposed. Talking about issues without taboos or prejudices has a statistically significant positive impact on the consequences of these negative experiences on young people’s psychological well-being and mental health, unlike restrictive parental supervision,” she added.
Source: LUSA
