TikTok, Instagram show self-harm content to under-16s: Study
A new 2025 study by the Molly Rose Foundation shows that TikTok and Instagram are recommending a huge amount of self-harm and suicide-related content to teenagers under 16.
Researchers set up accounts as if they were 15-year-old girls from the UK and found that over 95% of recommended videos on both platforms were harmful.
Many posts getting millions of likes
Almost half of the flagged posts talked about suicide or self-harm openly, with many getting millions of likes.
Experts worry this level of exposure could seriously affect young people's mental health.
Findings 'horrifying': Ian Russell
Ian Russell—whose daughter Molly died in 2017 after seeing similar online content—called the findings "horrifying."
He criticized current child safety rules as not strong enough and urged the government to step in now, saying it's still happening "on the Prime Minister's watch."
Foundation's mission
Since losing his daughter, Ian Russell started the Molly Rose Foundation to research social media's impact on youth mental health and campaign for tougher online safety laws.
This latest study adds more urgency to their mission.