Young Canadians’ Exposure to Authentic Violent and Gore Content Online

This includes, for instance, photos and videos of self-harm (Stänicke et al., 2025), suicide (Ofcom, 2024), fist fights and stabbings (Youth Endowment Fund, 2024), mass shootings (Classification Office, 2025), animal abuse (Reyes Molleda et al., 2026), sexual violence (Dodge, 2016), and more (Ofcom, 2024).

This content is now available in everyday online spaces, including on social media platforms and in search engine results (Broderick, 2025; Classification Office, 2025, 4). This content is insufficiently moderated (Gillespie, 2018), and at times algorithmically amplified (Saurwein & Spencer-Smith, 2021), by many popular social media and messaging platforms (eSafety Commissioner, 2025). While countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom have been trailblazers in researching and responding to this issue (e.g., Classification Office 2025; eSafety Commissioner, 2025; Human Digital et al., 2025), insufficient research in Canada has left policy makers, educators, and advocates without the evidence needed to make data-driven regulations and interventions.