YouTube is implementing new measures to limit teenagers’ exposure to certain content related to weight, fitness, and physical appearance. 

Dr. Garth Graham, YouTube’s Global Head of Health, cites concerns about the potential negative impact of repeated viewing of such content on young users’ self-perception and well-being.

The platform plans to adjust its recommendation algorithms for users aged 13 to 17, preventing the repeated suggestion of videos that idealize specific fitness levels, body weights, or physical features.

“Teens are more likely than adults to form negative beliefs about themselves when seeing repeated messages about ideal standards in the content they consume online,” Dr. Graham explained in a blog post.

The new guidelines, now in effect globally, target content that idealizes certain physical features over others, promotes specific fitness or body weight standards and encourages social aggression or physical intimidation.

While these videos will remain accessible to teenagers, YouTube’s algorithms will no longer push young users toward related content.

Social Media and Mental Health

According to The Guardian, YouTube’s initiative aligns with the UK’s newly introduced Online Safety Act. It requires tech companies to protect children from harmful content and consider how their algorithms may expose under-18s to damaging material.

“A higher frequency of content that idealizes unhealthy standards or behaviors can emphasize potentially problematic messages – and those messages can impact how some teens see themselves,” Allison Briscoe-Smith, a clinician and YouTube adviser, said in a statement.

Sonia Livingstone, a professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics, noted the significance of YouTube’s move, citing a recent Children’s Society report that found nearly one in four girls in the UK are dissatisfied with their appearance.

“There is at least a recognition here that changing algorithms is a positive action that platforms like YouTube can take,” Livingstone stated.

In June, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms due to their potential mental health impacts on young people.