Teenage boys in Jersey say they are regularly exposed to violent content, including videos of executions, degrading sexual material and radical political content, online – and believe social media platforms are failing to protect them.
It comes as a panel of politicians has launched a review to explore what protection children in Jersey have from online harms amid “major concern” around the topic.
Speaking to Express ahead of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week, five Jersey sixth form students described how their social media feeds are full of disturbing material – including real-life executions, car crashes, sexually violent content, and political views they said are extreme, misogynistic or far-right.
One student said: “A lot of people our age have seen people being executed, being killed in car crashes, on Instagram, on TikTok. It’s a shockingly common thing.”
Another added: “Instagram reels, especially, are probably the worst for that…I’ve reported things, and you look the next day, and [the videos are] still up.”
The students criticised social media companies for allowing the content to remain online, and for continuing to recommend it to young users through algorithms designed to maximise time on the app.
“A lot of people our age have seen people being executed, being killed in car crashes, on Instagram, on TikTok.
“Social media companies absolutely should be doing more… but I doubt that they will for a long time, because it brings the money,” one student said.
“We should be putting pressure on the companies themselves for allowing this algorithm to stay in place.”
Another added: “The only thing that will make them change is government regulation.”
Pornography seen young, often by accident
They explained that many young people’s first experiences with pornography came through “stumbling across it” on social media or by browsing the web.
“The first stage that boys stumble across porn is 11, and the first time boys tend to seek it out is 14,” one student said.
One said he saw coverage of a politician discussing sexual choking in porn and how it may influence behaviour.
“People who are very young will see [this content] and think that’s what they’re meant to do – to choke her, without asking,” he said.
The students linked this exposure to damaging ideas about sex and relationships, and called for better PSHE and sex education in schools to address the myths created by pornography and misogynistic influencers.
“Every single child, boy or girl, will have to go through school at some point,” one teenager said.
“So you catch and filter out all the negative sentiment that’s going to get drawn from consumption of porn by dealing with it [at school].”
This comes as the Children and Young People’s Survey, conducted by Statistics Jersey and published in April, revealed that 15% of boys named online pornography as a main source of information about sex – nearly eight times higher than the proportion of girls (2%).
Hate and abuse in the comments section
Beyond the videos themselves, the students warned about the harm caused by anonymous, unmoderated comment sections.
“If you click on the comments of basically any Instagram reel, you see things that are highly violent, highly sexual, just awful, awful things,” one said.
“[The comments section] has always really shocked me. It’s something that is maybe sometimes overlooked.”
You see things that are highly violent, highly sexual, just awful, awful things,
The teenagers said the anonymity of online platforms was fuelling casual misogyny, abuse, and mockery of marginalised groups.
One explained: “There are lots of videos recommended to people with quite subtle forms of bigotry, ableism, where it will just be a video of someone who’s quite clearly autistic or someone who has Down syndrome doing something quite innocuous… And lots of people don’t realise that the joke is that the person is disabled.”
“They also do it to lots of gay people, lots of trans people. It’s just a lack of understanding of how supporting these videos perpetuates harmful ideas.”
Far-right views online
The boys also spoke about far-right political content being pushed through short-form videos – often by influencers who are male, wealthy, and assertive.
“With something like social media, it’s all about views and interactions, and therefore, more extreme viewpoints tend to get a lot more traction,” one student said.
“When I open my phone, I see quite a lot on politics… I see lots and lots of men who have far-right political views.”
“More extreme viewpoints tend to get a lot more traction.”
The teens said the visual style of far-right influencers – showing off wealth, houses, or status – helps draw young people in.
“Right-wing creators are able to show that they are very rich, have really nice houses, and really nice cars,” one teen said.
“You automatically make this subtle connection, by wanting to be that person, you would also want to have their political views.
“You should obviously be doing your own research… rather than just seeing these tiny videos that show you no evidence.”
They described how algorithms push users further into these far-right views, potentially radicalising viewers over time.
“Even if you’re recommended one of these videos and you watch it all the way through, Instagram or TikTok will then show you more and more,” one said.
“The rise of short-form content… has become very dangerous for the manipulation of the facts and of the evidence.”
Some warned that this creates echo chambers that discourage meaningful debate.
“These right-wing commentators tend to be more bombastic,” said one teen.
“That teaches us to be insular and not listen to others and to disregard people’s beliefs, even if they have merit.”
Andrew Tate may be fading, but others have replaced him
The boys also discussed Andrew Tate, a social media personality known for misogynistic and extreme views.
Several said that while Tate is now mocked more than looked up to, the ideas he represents are still very present, albeit in different forms.
One student explained: “There was definitely a period where Andrew Tate was very prevalent, where people were following what he was saying… But I would say nowadays he’s almost become a bit of a caricature.
“Part of what contributed to his fall off is that people were just looking for the most outrageous things to be said… those things became normalised, and then people got bored and moved on to potentially worse figures.”
The teens named other influencers like Charlie Kirk as more current and more dangerous because they present themselves as respectable or intellectual.
“Charlie Kirk is worse than Tate because he seems like a normal guy, more respectable,” one student said.
“Someone like Charlie Kirk appears to be much more educated… which is why it seems so dangerous.”
Another added: “The message that [Tate] was presenting is still around – whether it be by different people.”
What do they want?
The boys agreed that social media platforms will not change voluntarily – and that governments need to step in with legislation.
“We need strong government legislation to force these corporations into [removing harmful content],” one said.
“We’re kind of foolish to think that they’re going to be doing it by themselves.”
At the same time, the students want better PSHE education, open conversations, and more critical thinking about what people see online.
“You should be doing your own research on everything… not just watching tiny videos,” one said.
What do other stakeholders have to say?
The comments come after Jersey’s children’s rights watchdog warned that the island must introduce stricter laws to hold online platforms accountable for child safety and improve support for those who suffer harm online.
In a letter published earlier this year, Children’s Commissioner Dr Carmel Corrigan urged the Government to “ensure that it is fulfilling its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights in the digital environment”.
It last year emerged that Jersey’s Government had turned down Parliament’s offer to extend the UK Online Safety Act to the island in favour of creating its own legislation.
At the time, Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel Chair Deputy Catherine Curtis expressed her “disappointment” at the move, and said her panel would be “seeking reassurances” about what is planned to take its place after the decision came to light.
The Children, Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel has since launched a review to explore what protection children in Jersey have from online harms amid “major concern” around the topic.
The ongoing review is examining the measures in place to protect young people from online harm, looking at regulations that might be applicable to Jersey, and scrutinising whether Jersey is meeting obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
As part of the review, the Children’s Commissioner wrote a letter to the scrutiny panel.
Dr Corrigan emphasised that children’s rights – such as privacy, protection from harm, and freedom of expression – must be upheld online.
She urged the Government to strengthen protections and align digital policies with children’s best interests to ensure a safer online environment.
Dr Corrigan said: “A robust legal framework that prevents online harm while respecting children’s rights to privacy and expression is necessary to support children to enjoy their rights in the digital world.”
Meanwhile, the former Channel Islands data protection commissioner has warned that Jersey is facing a “public health emergency” as increasing numbers of young islanders are exposed to harmful online content – including self-harm, pornography, bullying, eating disorders, and violence.
Emma Martins has called for clarity around “areas of concern”, including the use of phones at school, and children and young people’s access to social media and the internet.
In a submission to the Scrutiny review, Ms Martins wrote: “We should be in no doubt that we are in the midst of a public health emergency.
“Unlike other emergencies, this one is mostly hidden. Hidden from parents and carers, hidden from teachers and schools, hidden from law enforcement, and hidden from society.
“It is incumbent upon us all to bring the problem into the open. Only then will we be able to see with clear eyes the scale of what we are dealing with.”
Ms Martins, who has worked in data protection for more than 25 years, noted that there is “increasing and particular concern” about children and young people using social media platforms.
“It is both morally and legally unacceptable for any of us, particularly the young, to be commodified, yet that is the business model we have allowed to dominate our lives,” she added.
The data protection expert called for digital literacy to be embedded into education from a young age.
“Half an hour ‘online safety’ or PSHE every so often is simply not good enough,” she said.
LISTEN…
To mark Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week, Express sat down with five sixth-form students to talk about what it’s really like growing up as a teenage boy in today’s world.
From gym culture and body image to pornography, politics, online radicalisation and the rise of far-right influencers, the boys speak openly about what they’re seeing, what worries them, and what gives them hope…