‘I got sent something of people shooting themselves’ – research shows young people can’t avoid harmful content online

A new report from New Zealand’s Classification Office has revealed how young people are being exposed to harmful content online and what it is doing to their mental health.

The Classification Office spoke with ten different groups of young people aged between 12 and 25 from a diverse range of backgrounds.

They found that encountering extremely harmful – and sometime illegal – content is part of the online experience for young people. And they are often trying to deal with this without adequate support or guidance.

Unintentional consumption

The types of content young people talked about most involved graphic depictions of real-world violence – including executions, mass shootings, suicide and extreme cruelty towards animals.

Seeing extremely harmful content was mostly – but not always – described as unintentional or unwanted. Participants described encountering this content in much the same way they engaged with other types of content.

Participants talked about coming across this content in their social media feeds, in chat groups, or having content shared directly by others either online or in person. One male high school student said:

You can just be in like a server that’s for, like, a game that you like, or a YouTuber or something, and someone can just send something that’s crazy.

Another male high school student commented:

Yeah, I got sent something of people shooting themselves.

Even if young people did not actively look for this content, some engaged with it when it was shared or showed up unexpectedly in their social media feeds. Curiosity – or a desire to test their boundaries – lead to some young people looking at content even if they were aware this could be harmful or disturbing.

One male from a community group said:

I’ve seen gore […] Just out of curiosity, me and my friend […] well, someone actually posted it on their WhatsApp status. We asked the guy, “Where did you get this video from?” He said it was from a website, so we went there […] but there was some bad stuff. So […] we decided not to watch it again.

Content depicting real-world graphic violence, injury or death was mentioned in every group the Classifications Office spoke to. Participants also talked about young people sharing sexual images or videos of themselves or others online.

Lingering impacts

Participants described a range of impacts young people may experience when exposed to extremely harmful content, or harmful content more broadly. This includes emotional or psychological impacts, ranging from short-term shock or disgust to a longer-term impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

Young people also discussed the harmful impacts of content on individuals’ attitudes, beliefs, or behaviours. They used words such as “horrified”, “petrified” “traumatised” or “embarrassed”.

Others talked about not being able to “unsee” content.

In a written response, one high school student said:

harm can be something that gets on your mind and doesn’t leave it and keeps coming back again and again at times that you don’t want that thought to come into your head.

Seeking guidance

For many parents, the immediate reaction to finding their teen has watched harmful content might be to take away a young person’s device or attempt to ban them from access to the internet.

But young people involved in this research stressed the importance of being able to talk without fear of criticism or punishment. They felt that judgement or punitive actions – such as taking away devices – tend to hurt rather than help.

Some reported that strong emotional reactions or assumptions can complicate the situation and lead them to avoid reaching out altogether.

A former female Youth Advisory Panel member said:

it’s recognising how unhelpful it is ‘cause it’s just like, “Well, if you weren’t on that damned phone, then you wouldn’t have seen this stuff.” So I imagine if someone was to find objectional content then they wouldn’t feel like they could go to their parents, and then what do you do then? So I guess trying to build that understanding and bridge for communication.

Participants consistently emphasised the need for supportive and understanding responses when seeking help with difficult content or online experiences. They wanted adults to remain calm and allow them to fully share their experiences before reacting.

What they are seeking is practical guidance that acknowledges their efforts and agency in managing challenging situations.

One female high school student said:

[If my parents are] worried about something that’s happened, we’ll sort it out first, and then we’ll talk about their worries afterwards. And so like, if there’s something gone wrong, I will talk to them first because I know that they’ll have my back and they’ll sort it out for me. And then, if there are some worries, we’ll talk about it after things are sorted out.

There are several things parents can do to help young people cope with what they have seen online.

Reassuring young people that it’s not their fault can reduce any feelings of guilt or shame. Helping them to process what they’ve seen by acknowledging the upsetting nature of it and allowing space to discuss it can help process any intense emotions that may arise.

Finally, parents need to be encouraging young people to think critically about how viewing this material might affect them in the long term and any steps they can take to reduce their exposure to it. This will help young people build their own long-term solutions and competence in managing their online experiences.