Instagram Investigation Finds Sexual Content Served To Teens

Additionally, 80% of participants reported feeling uncomfortable while using Instagram Teen accounts. Notably, only one test account was shown educational content.

One tester expressed frustration: “[Approximately] 80% of the content in my feed was focused on relationships or crude sexual humor. While it mostly avoided explicit images, it often left little to the imagination.”

The comprehensive 26-page report indicates that a shocking 55% of the identified content involved sexual behavior and imagery, with some clips garnering hundreds of thousands of likes, including one with over 3.3 million likes.

Instagram’s algorithm also promoted detrimental ideas, including “ideal” body types, body shaming, and unhealthy eating habits. Worryingly, some videos encouraged alcohol use and urged viewers to consider steroids and supplements to achieve specific body ideals.

A Troubling Variety of Inappropriate Media

Despite Meta’s assertions of filtering out harmful content for teen users, the test accounts were still exposed to racist, homophobic, and misogynistic messages. These questionable clips collectively attracted millions of likes, alongside videos depicting gun violence and domestic abuse.