The way social media is designed is dangerous. It is driving a youth mental health crisis and damaging millions of lives. Algorithms drive us towards darker and darker content because this makes more money from advertising. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
While social media (specifically TikTok) made me feel less alone in my struggles I quickly got caught up in a toxic side of social media where it was no longer about creating a community for people struggling with similar things, but rather comparing toxic coping strategies and competing for who is suffering the most.
Isla
We worked with Dove and a partnership of NGOs –including 5Rights Foundation, Girlguiding and Parenting Mental Health - to raise awareness of harmful features on social media to encourage new design standards that will make social media safer for kids.
We launched a petition alongside Dove’s The Cost of Beauty film, which showed the impact of toxic beauty content on girls. Over 78,000 people signed our petition, which we delivered to Ofcom when the Online Safety Act was made law.
78,000
people signed our petition calling for social media to be made safer by design, which we delivered to Ofcom when the Online Safety Act became law
9 in 10
youth mental health specialists say exposure to harmful beauty content on social media can lead to physical consequences, like disordered eating or self-harm
50%+
of kids say social media makes them and their peers feel anxious, and 3 in 4 say social media makes them want to change their appearance
1 in 3
who recalled seeing self-harm content on Instagram reported that they reported that they have performed the same (or very similar) self harming behaviour as a consequence
Taking action against the harmful business models
Global Action Plan’s vision is of a safe, well regulated, low carbon online environment. We’re taking action against the harmful business models that put us and our children at risk.
Social media is harming the mental health of 1 in 2 kids. We are all being gaslit by Big Tech. Parents are made to feel guilty for not protecting children, young people are shamed for too much time on it, yet billions of pounds go into designing platforms to keep us on them. The blame and shame must not be on parents and kids, it must be on those who have the power to make social media safer.
Cost of Beauty: A film containing real stories about body appearance that highlight the negative impact that social media can have on young people
Video explaining how and why Big Tech companies use targeted advertising in their apps
Working with Global Action Plan gave us the confidence to know we were running a credible campaign that led to meaningful action. Their campaigning expertise and strategic understanding of the UK landscape on child online safety was invaluable to our #KidsOnlineSafety campaign.
Amalie Thompson, Dove
Find out more about Global Action Plan and why we are working with Dove.
Global Action Plan is working with Dove and a partnership of NGOs - 5Rights, Girlguiding and Parenting Mental Health - to raise awareness of harmful features on social media to encourage new design standards that will make social media safer for kids. Find out more about Dove’s campaign.
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11th February 25
11/02/25
