‘You get desensitised to it’: how social media fuels fear of violence

Teenagers at the Bringing Hope Charity say social media is influencing young people’s behaviour. Left to right: Oshaun, Zarin, Jamil, Trovainna, Mia and Rianna. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian

It took about 90 seconds for Rianna Montaque to see violence on her X account: a fight in a restaurant that escalated into a full-on brawl with chairs smashed over heads and bodies sprawling.

The “Gang_Hits” account has plenty more clips like that – shootings, beatings, people being run down by cars. It is part of a grim genre of content which is often promoted by algorithms so it pops up in young people’s social media feeds unbidden.