YouTube reduces recommendations for fitness videos for teenagers

Social media is not good for a teenager's brain. The things that pass before our eyes as we scroll may seem harmless and seem like they have no impact, but in a teenager's brain, they can cause permanent damage.

To address body image issues among teenagers, tools are currently being deployed in Europe and the UK (already implemented in the US) to help parents limit their children's exposure to fitness and body image content.

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The video giant's latest policy will limit the visibility of videos that idealize certain body types and weight categories. YouTube will also limit repeated recommended viewing of such content so that teens aren't inundated with unrealistic body standards that damage their self-esteem.

If you think this is a nanny state restricting the rights of a private corporation that can do whatever it wants, then it's all based on findings from YouTube itself. YouTube has a Youth and Family Advisory Board that found that constant exposure to idealized body images can lead to physical and psychological problems in teenagers.

YouTube's overarching goal isn't to remove this content from the platform, but to make sure it doesn't create a negative feedback loop for impressionable teens. Nothing makes you believe a negative opinion you hold is right more than having it constantly reinforced – in this case by an algorithm that doesn't rate the content. It just knows you've seen it before and might want to watch it again.

The change is part of a whole range of new options on YouTube for European parents designed to better protect their children. Parents can now link their accounts to their teens' profiles to monitor their activity. They can even be notified when their kids upload something or start live streaming – perhaps so they can tune in and spam the chat with embarrassing dad jokes.