The Junk Food Conveyor Belt
Imagine your child walks into a cafeteria at school, and instead of choosing their own meal, a conveyor belt automatically starts serving them food. At first, it’s harmless—some fries, a can of lemonade.
But as they keep eating, the belt pushes more extreme options: high-sugar drinks, deep-fried everything, and eventually even toxic substances. Your child never asked for this, but the system keeps feeding them whatever will keep them consuming the longest, no matter the harm.
Social media algorithms do the same: They feed our children and teens increasingly harmful content—self-harm, eating disorders, hypersexualization—not because they want it, but because it maximizes engagement.
In a report published by the Internet Watch Foundation:
- Over a quarter of children (27%) have been contacted by strangers, around one in five have encountered violent content (22%), and more than 4 in 10 children have encountered false information.
Remember how we used to leap onto our beds so the bogeyman couldn’t grab us by the ankles? Well the bogeyman is on a smartphone your child is holding…
Photo by Ashley Green
