Violence on social media making teenagers afraid to go out, study finds

Quarter of teens who see violence online are being served clips via algorithms, survey in England and Wales finds

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers are afraid to go out because of the violence they see on their social media feeds, a major study of children in England and Wales has found.

One in four teenagers who see real-life violence, including fist fights, stabbings and gang clashes, online are being served the clips automatically by algorithmic recommendation features, according to the study done by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) and shared with the Guardian. Only a small minority actively searched for the violent content.