One Minute Brief of the Day: Create impactful posters promoting the need to #StopTheForcedFeed with cybersmile
Cybersmile are today launching the ‘Stop the Forced Feed’ campaign to mark Safer Internet Day
The campaign is to raise awareness of the dangers of social media algorithms following new Cybersmile research that harmful content is being fed to adults in as little as 16 seconds and children in as little as 8 minutes of using social media without their consent.
The campaign is calling on policy reform for a transfer of power from social media platforms to users so that users can have complete control of their own algorithms rather than the platforms controlling their experiences. This change means that users will be able to protect themselves from harmful content without relying on platforms to do it.
We are calling on the OMBLES to help us spread the word and encourage people to join the movement for content with consent.
Let’s #StopTheForcedFeed together.
One Minute Brief of the Day:
the algorithm is feeding harmful content to users - impacting the mental and physical health of social media users of all ages.
Create impactful posters promoting the need to #StopTheForcedFeed
To enter, tweet your posters to @OneMinuteBriefs and @CybersmileHQ using the hashtags #StopTheForcedFeed and #SaferInternetDay…as well as a link to cybersmile.org/stoptheforcedfeed
Enter as many times as you like and remember to include your handle in the top-left corner.
You can also enter on Linkedin via the comments on our pinned post.
Feel free to share posts and stories to Instagram too!
Tag in OMB and instagram.com/cybersmilefoundation
WINNER RECEIVES A £100 CASH PRIZE!!
“Uncontrollable exposure to harmful content shouldn’t be the price that users are required to pay to use social media. We are calling for a transfer of power so that social media users can have complete control over what they are consuming online, in the same way that they can control what they consume in other areas of their lives.”
A Crucial Public Health Issue
Harmful content on social media is increasingly being recognised as detrimental to mental and physical wellbeing. Widespread exposure has been shown to impact:
Mental health – including anxiety, poor sleep, depression and low self-esteem
Body image and encouraging eating disorders
Self-harm, suicide and dangerous practices and ‘challenges’
The algorithms, which value engagement over safety, take over feeds without the user’s consent.
The Algorithm Experiment
Cybersmile volunteers over the age of eighteen, led by behavioural scientists, conducted a guided experiment to test real-world exposure to content suggested by the platforms' algorithms. The volunteers found harmful content being served to users within minutes, without them searching for it. It took as little as 16 seconds for adult accounts and 8 minutes for children's accounts to be served harmful content without their consent.
Racism, misogyny and violence were the most common themes observed in the experiment. This included hateful speech towards different groups and communities, content depicting and encouraging extreme violence, suicidal ideation, content demeaning people with disabilities
65% of social media users would like more control over their algorithmic experiences and the content that they see.
69% of social media users would like more insight into how algorithms decide why they see what they see.
Only 36% of social media users feel in control of their algorithmic experiences.
40% of social media users don’t understand algorithms.
About The Cybersmile Foundation
The Cybersmile Foundation is a multi-award-winning nonprofit organisation committed to digital wellbeing and tackling all forms of bullying and abuse online. They work to promote kindness and tolerance by building a safer, more positive digital community.
Through education, research, awareness campaigns, and the promotion of positive digital citizenship, they reduce incidents of cyberbullying, and through their professional help and support services, they empower those affected and their families to regain control of their lives.
LINKS:
https://www.cybersmile.org/stoptheforcedfeed
https://x.com/CybersmileHQ/
https://www.facebook.com/TheCybersmileFoundation/
https://www.instagram.com/cybersmilefoundation/
