June 17, 2025
Navigating the feed: younger adolescents' reflections on algorithmically curated social media
Our latest researcher of the month, Roxana Pomplun, has investigated the interactions, experiences and perceptions of younger adolescents, aged 11, 12, and 13, with algorithmically curated platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Spotlight on Snapchat and Reels on Instagram. These kinds of platforms use algorithms to personalise and tailor feeds, harnessing user data to suggest content that the individual is most likely to be interested in and engage with. As such, young people have little control over what they are seeing in their feeds. Tech companies are not yet required to be transparent about the data that they are collecting, but it tends to include demographic information such as age, gender or location, along with use patterns.
Whilst these sites dominate the digital lives of tweens and teens, until now they have received little dedicated research attention, particularly in relation to younger users, with most existing studies focusing on older teens.
Whilst we know that most social media platforms have age limits of 13, we also know that many younger children are active users, particularly of algorithmically curated platforms like TikTok and YouTube Shorts. Given that early adolescence is a life phase marked by critical neurological development, identity development and heightened susceptibility to mental health issues, deepening our understanding of how younger adolescents engage with social media is vital.
Roxana's qualitative research, where a group of young people eloquently explore their own experiences and perceptions, broadens our knowledge of social media use within an age group that appears increasingly aware of the digital influences shaping their online experiences, yet which is still in need of support to fully navigate these ecosystems.
Summary
Keen to centre children's voices, Roxana interviewed 19 UK-based young people (nine boys, nine girls and one non-binary adolescent) aged between 11 and 13. All participants were active users of at least one social media platform, and each spoke with Roxana twice during semi-structured interviews. To prompt and deepen conversations, participants were invited to bring screenshots or saved images and videos of anything that they thought interesting during their social media use, or which triggered strong feelings.
Roxana found that the young people in her study were very keen to explore their experiences of social media and very open about their perceptions and experiences. A set of mixed feelings emerged about their social media use. Using her data, Roxana constructed the 'Adolescence Algorithmic Interactions Theory'. It consists of three core concentric layers which categorise the most commonly emerging themes and experiences. She has termed these, ‘digital ecosystem fluidity’, ‘temporal immersion’ and ‘algorithmic mindfulness’. The theory illustrates how younger adolescents perceive, experience and manoeuvre the complex landscape of algorithmically driven social media, highlighting both challenges and potential self-regulatory strategies.
The young people discussed the interconnectivity of platforms (digital ecosystem fluidity), and the way that content - especially short-form videos - migrates across different platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight and Instagram Reels. Despite this similarity in content, the young people in the study identified a hierarchy of social media platforms, with TikTok being considered the best, and the one that they all wanted to be on (though some were not allowed by their parents). The participants generally displayed a good understanding of social media recommender algorithms and how these might influence our own behaviour, and they uniformly considered TikTok to have a superior algorithm and better personalisation when compared to other platforms. They felt that TikTok provides the best and most tailored user experience, is faster at picking up on what they want to see, and is where trends appear first.
As a business and design model, algorithmically curated social media relies on both surprise and on triggering strong emotions in order to keep users engaged. The young people interviewed all reported experiencing unpleasant or mixed feelings when using social media, due in part to the sense that they easily lost track of time (temporal immersion). This was often accompanied by feelings of guilt for being on platforms for too long, or a sense that they lacked control over their behaviour. Many of the interviewees also felt that social media negatively impacted their attention span, or reported that their parents told them so. Having minimal control over the videos that they watched, they described how they might see something funny, followed by something happy, followed by something political, then something odd, then something sad, all in quick succession, and that this impacted their emotions. They noted that the speed of transition between this unexpected content could at times feel exhausting, leaving them, in Roxana’s words, variously 'delighted and distressed', creating an emotional turbulence that some found challenging to manage.
Whilst some young people described feeling powerless against the algorithm, others engaged in mainly subconscious reflective behaviours which aimed to give them agency over the algorithm - something that Roxana terms algorithmic mindfulness.
Some chose to avoid the algorithm. One girl, for example, described how, whilst she wanted to use TikTok, she didn’t like being shown things that she had no control over. So rather than using the default ‘For You’ feed, which is algorithmically curated, each time she opened the app, she selected the ‘Following’ feed, which only showed accounts that she had actively chosen to follow.
Some tried to influence the algorithm. When faced with content that made them feel uncomfortable or sad, they would scroll past quickly, or tag it as not of interest. They felt that this strategy meant that similar material did not come up as frequently. It’s important to note that because of opacity in algorithm design, we don’t really know if this strategy is effective, but it gave the young people a sense of agency.
Some created physical distance from their phone. Some of the young people began to charge their phone on the other side of their room at night to remove the temptation of scrolling in bed. Others asked their parents to look after their phone for them at times, to keep them off it.
Some removed the apps! During the research, one participant deleted her TikTok account, as a personal experiment to see how she felt without it. This particular girl felt better able to focus at school and that she was generally using her time more productively. However, she also felt that she was missing out on trends and this made her feel excluded from some of the things that her friends were doing.
Some sought parental support. Encouragingly, some participants reported seeking out their parents to talk about things that they saw online.
Interestingly, in Roxana's study, not all platforms were equal. Pinterest emerged as a site associated with more mindful and intentional use. The young people who used Pinterest (who were mainly, though not exclusively, girls) did so for specific purposes, such as learning the piano, finding room decoration inspiration, or to fuel their interest in dressmaking or crochet. It seemed to be perceived completely differently to the short-form video platforms that they also used a lot, and was not associated with emotional turbulence or challenging feelings. This might indicate that there is space for the future use or regulation of algorithmic design that relies less on emotionally provocative content.
Implications
What can parents do?
It’s not always easy, but where possible, try to talk to children about their experiences. If you have allowed your young adolescent to access social media, then always try to remain open and non-judgemental, and don’t impart blame if things do go wrong online, or if they see something distressing. By engaging in these kinds of curious conversations, children and young people will gain greater awareness of the helpful reflective behaviours that they already use, and consider other strategies that might help them to get the most benefit from their social media use.
Try to understand the social media platforms that they use. Download them and try them out yourself. If your child knows that you have some comprehension of how the platforms they use work, one barrier to communication is removed, and they may find it easier to open up.
Explore issues around algorithmic literacy together. Our children may well know as much or more than us on this topic. Rather than trying to teach them, why not explore what they understand, establish knowledge limitations (for you both) and then work together to learn more? Remember, some young people will understand more than others about algorithms.
Talk about the business model. Ask what they think about the fact that not everything that they see on social media is something that they want to see. Do they think it’s right that the algorithm simply shows them whatever will keep them engaged for longest? Do they like seeing things that evoke very strong emotions? How can they avoid becoming stuck in a cycle of seeing material that is extreme, or which creates an echo chamber of the same views?
Boost their sense of self-efficacy online. We want our children to develop a belief in their ability to succeed in specific situations and achieve particular goals. Within Roxana’s study, some of the children expressed a sense of powerlessness in relation to their social media use. We can help them to see that there are small things that they can do. They are not totally at the mercy of the algorithm! Cultivating this sense of self efficacy, and encouraging them to try out small changes and reflect on their impact, are great steps on the way to self-regulation.
Check out the Center for Humane Technology’s Take Control Toolkit. Both teens and adults can use the steps outlined here to improve digital wellbeing and regain control of their feeds. The Center for Humane Technology website also features numerous other helpful resources.
What about at school?
Digital literacy lessons in school seem to be working! Whilst this is a small study, and Roxana wasn't focusing on the impact of digital literacy education, the children involved seemed to understand a great deal about data protection, online safety and the workings of algorithms.
Expanding lessons to incorporate digital ethics and a more philosophical approach would be beneficial. Many of the issues surrounding technology use and social media are societal and systemic. Integrating digital literacy content across the curriculum and considering broader related concepts, such as ethics, ideology and politics, through open, philosophical questioning will help to strengthen critical thinking.
Consider integrating an algorithmic literacy qualification. Dr Lizzy Winstone’s recent report suggests introducing a compulsory Key Stage 4 qualification in digital media and algorithmic literacy for all young people across the UK. She advises that this must extend beyond functional skills to critical literacy, with curriculum input from both experts in technology and AI, and experts in media literacy, public health, psychology and sociology.
Tooled Up members can listen to our interview with Roxana Pomplun here. Remember, if you are a Tooled Up member, you also have access to our whole platform, which is packed with evidence-based resources designed to support children in the digital world.
Roxana Pomplun
PhD researcher in Applied Health Research at the University of Kent
Roxana has just passed the viva voce for her NIHR-funded PhD in Applied Health Research at the University of Kent. Her research has focused on younger adolescents’ (aged 11-13) interactions with algorithmically curated social media, particularly short-form video platforms (e.g. TikTok, YouTube Shorts). Roxana has now started working as a Child Safety Researcher at ActiveFence, continuing her aspiration for making the internet a safer place for children and young people.
Roxana Pomplun
PhD researcher in Applied Health Research at the University of Kent
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