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SHAH ALAM - Experts warn that social media algorithms can gradually expose young users to more graphic violent content, increasing the risk that they will begin to see violence as normal.
While experts stressed that viewing violent content does not automatically lead to violent behaviour, they warned that excessive exposure, particularly among vulnerable youths, can create unhealthy online environments and reinforce harmful ideas.
Universiti Putra Malaysia artificial intelligence senior lecturer Dr Azree Shahrel Ahmad Nazri said recommendation systems on social media platforms often serve users more of the content they have previously engaged with.
He said this can unintentionally increase exposure to violent material.
"From a cybersecurity perspective, online platforms and recommendation systems may unintentionally reinforce this exposure.
"For example, a teenager who watches a single documentary about a school shooting on YouTube or TikTok may quickly be recommended increasingly graphic or extreme content, including perpetrator manifestos, attack footage or discussions that glorify offenders," he told Sinar Daily.
Azree said this phenomenon is commonly referred to as an "algorithmic rabbit hole", where automated recommendations progressively narrow and intensify the type of content users encounter.
"This creates an algorithmic rabbit hole, where users are gradually drawn deeper into a specific type of content without actively seeking it out," he said.
He explained that repeated exposure could create the false impression that violent incidents, extremist ideas or graphic content are more common and socially accepted than they actually are.
Azree said children and younger adolescents are particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing.
"In general, children and younger adolescents are not fully equipped to process highly graphic or extremist content.
"The brain regions responsible for impulse control, emotional regulation, critical thinking and long-term decision-making continue developing into early adulthood," he said.
Although many teenagers understood that violence is wrong, he said repeated exposure could gradually alter how they perceive risk and empathy, as well as the real-world consequences of violent behaviour.
He added that online discussions may also glamorise offenders, reward notoriety or present violence in ways that appear detached from its devastating impact on victims and families.
He said this showed the importance of parental guidance, digital literacy education and age-appropriate supervision of children's online activities.
"It also reinforces the need for credible, qualified voices rather than unverified influencers to guide public understanding of such complex issues," he said.
Influencers can worsen misinformation
Azree also expressed concern over the growing influence of social media personalities and content creators discussing violent incidents and sensitive issues without relevant expertise.
"An additional emerging concern is the role of influencers and content creators. Individuals without relevant qualifications may discuss or even sensationalise violent events, potentially spreading misinformation or framing content in ways that increase harm," he said.
He pointed to countries such as China, which have introduced stricter regulations requiring influencers to possess relevant qualifications or certifications before discussing specialised or sensitive topics.
A similar approach, he said, could help ensure that discussions around violence, crime and mental health are informed, responsible and less likely to contribute to harm.
Platform design plays a crucial role
Communications and Multimedia Content Forum (Content Forum) chief executive officer Mediha Mahmood said the design of social media platforms and their algorithms has become a critical factor in shaping young people's online experiences.
"From a social media and online safety perspective, I would say that this is where platform design matters because algorithms tend to serve users more of what they engage with," she said.
She said a teenager who clicks on a disturbing video or reads a true crime discussion thread may eventually be directed towards more extreme material.
She said it can create a distorted online world where violence, cruelty or extremist ideas feel far more common and accepted than they actually are, so they find themselves in a bit of a bubble.
According to Mediha, the issue extends beyond whether online content is legal or illegal.
"The issue here is not simply whether content is legal or illegal. We also need to ask whether it is responsible, whether young users should be exposed to it and whether platforms are doing enough to reduce the visibility of harmful content, especially for minors," she said.
Shared responsibility in protecting children online
Mediha said while parents and schools have important roles in guiding children, the responsibility of keeping young people safe online should not rest solely on them.
She stressed that young people need not only digital literacy skills but also what she described as '"digital reflexes."
These reflexes, she said involve the ability to pause, question what they are seeing, recognise when content is manipulating their curiosity and know when to disengage or seek help.
She added that prevention remains the most effective approach in addressing the potential harms of online violent content.
