YouTube limits its recommendations for weight and fitness-related videos to teenagers, but broader changes are needed

YouTube limits teenagers exposure to fitness and weight-related videos to protect your well-being. This means that the platform’s algorithm will no longer repeat recommendations of content that focuses on achieving a certain level of fitness or weight, or that praises certain physical characteristics.

This may include gym workouts that involve striving for a certain look and videos that idealize beauty traits, such as “how to get a sculpted jawline.” At the same time, YouTube is there imposing restrictions regarding recommending content “conveying social aggression and intimidation” to people under 18 years of age.

However, these changes do not stop teens from searching and viewing such content – and may not be enough to make significant changes.

Social media platforms are a fundamental part of youth culture. They have the power to shape perceptions of appearance, health, fitness and lifestyle. Their immense repository of appearance-related videos can put enormous pressure on juvenile people, bombarding them with all kinds of content promoting unrealistic and often unattainable body standards.

The role of the algorithm

Research has shown that exposure to appearance-related content on social media is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and greater engagement in more restrictive eating behaviors.

It can be arduous to escape such content when algorithms force it on users, even if juvenile people actively seek out more positive and less harmful content. This can create a situation in which teenagers’ curiosity quickly turns into a risky obsession – with regarding consequences.

For example, for a teenager who watches a “day at the gym” video from their favorite influencer, the algorithm will deliver more and more content related to fitness and weight. After watching this one video, an algorithmic “rabbit hole” opens up. For juvenile, impressionable teens, this can exacerbate harmful behaviors and consequences.

YouTube’s restrictions on recommending this content somewhat limit the effectiveness of the algorithm. However, even with restrictions in place, there is still a lot of fitness, beauty and weight-related content available on the platform that can perpetuate harmful body standards. YouTube’s restrictions won’t stop teens from being bombarded with the same content on other apps, either.

Body image and social media

Body dissatisfaction among teenagers is associated with depression, anxiety and eating disorders. Teenagers are at a critical developmental period in which they are highly susceptible to social influence, so the content they encounter on social media can greatly influence how they behave. see yourself.

The rise of fitness and beauty influencers on social media and all the strict workout videos, “What I Eat in a Day” videos, and beauty routines have gone hand in hand. Teens feel pressure to conform to the body ideals presented in this content, but these “ideals” are often virtually unattainable for most.

In fact, influencers often employ a range of filters on their photos and videos. These digitally altered images create distorted view of appearancecontributing to an escalate in body dissatisfaction in teenagers.

More needs to be done to address the larger social issues that fuel body image concerns among teenagers. This starts with education.

If we provide teens with the knowledge and understanding of how algorithms can influence what they see and the risks involved, they can feel empowered and autonomous in their own secure employ of social media. Media literacy programs have been found to improve body image among adolescents by equipping them with critical communication skills content on the Internet.

YouTube and other platforms could play a more busy role in promoting body diversity. This may include films that challenge tradition beauty standards. The combination of powerful algorithms, social pressure and the ubiquitous nature of social media means a more holistic approach is necessary.

If we are to protect teenagers from penniless body image and build greater resilience online, it will require more than just stricter algorithmic regulations. What is needed is media literacy, education and a cultural shift towards a body positive movement.