Protecting Children from Inappropriate Online Content in 2025

The internet, in 2025, is an omnipresent force, which makes Protecting Children from Inappropriate Online Content in 2025 is completely impossible without parental engagement and intervention.

The online world offers everyone an unparalleled wealth of information and connection through text, images, and video. Yet, this vast digital realm also hosts a darker side, brimming with content that is profoundly unsuitable and potentially harmful for young minds.

Parents must understand that children are often just a single click, or even a single algorithm recommendation, away from exposure to graphic content, images, violent videos, or disturbing narratives.

Such exposure can have a long lasting and significant negative impact on their mental health and development.

The terrifying part for parents who fail to pay attention to the activities, impact and influence of the online world, there are consequences. This will not be a problem until it becomes a life altering one.

 

 

Recent Studies

Recent research consistently underscores the alarming ease with which children encounter inappropriate material. For instance, the Children’s Rights Alliance’s “Online Safety Monitor 2025” report for Ireland casts a stark light on these dangers, revealing “disturbing levels of exposure to harmful content such as pornography, online grooming, and violence remain unchecked.” (INTO, 2025).

Furthermore, a March 2025 Sky News survey found that over half (55%) of surveyed teenagers aged 14-15 had seen sexually explicit or violent content inappropriate for their age.

Notably, a concerning 50% reported it appeared unprompted, driven by algorithms. (Sky News, 2025). This highlights a critical shift from children actively seeking out content to being passively exposed by platform design.

 

The Evolving Landscape of Inappropriate Content and Its Harms

The “inappropriate content” category has broadened significantly beyond traditional concerns in the modern digital age. Parents need to be acutely aware of these evolving threats and their potential impact on young people. We have listed some of the many you need to be aware of here:

 

Pornography and Sexual Content: A Threat to Healthy Development

Accidental exposure to pornography remains a pervasive and deeply concerning issue. Studies, such as an updated paper from the American College of Paediatricians (ACPeds), confirm that exposure to pornography, particularly at a young age, is associated with a range of negative emotional, psychological, and sociological outcomes.

Individuals exposed may develop distorted views of relationships, experience increased anxiety, and even show aggressive behaviour. (ACPeds, 2025).

Barnardo’s, in their “Online Safety Bill: Impact of Pornography on Children” report, detailed how children as young as seven are stumbling across harmful pornographic content.

Crucially, some children have participated in acts they’ve seen in videos despite feeling uncomfortable, highlighting the severe manipulative potential and the profound harm to their agency and well-being. (Barnardo’s, 2022, though the study is from 2022, its findings remain highly relevant to current discussions and exposure patterns).

The “algorithm-driven” exposure noted by Sky News further exacerbates this risk, leaving children vulnerable to profound emotional distress.

 

Extreme Violence and Graphic Imagery: Desensitisation and Trauma

Beyond traditional media, social media platforms and unmoderated sites can host highly graphic and disturbing content. This includes real-world violence, accidents, and acts of terrorism.

Research from West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) highlights a significant increase in the involvement of minors in Islamist terror plots in Europe, with online radicalization serving as a primary driver.

This new generation of teenagers often radicalizes primarily online through “ecosystems of unofficial outlets,” where propaganda, particularly from groups like Islamic State, is tailored for Western audiences and distributed by other minors on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram. (CTC, West Point, 2023, findings relevant to ongoing trends in 2025).

Exposure to such content can desensitize children to violence, promote aggression, and contribute to severe mental health issues like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Mobicip’s 2025 research on the “Impact of Virtual Violence on Kids’ Mental Health” specifically highlights these significant psychological burdens. (Mobicip, 2025).

 

Misinformation, Disinformation, and Fake News: Eroding Trust and Reality

In an era saturated with information, distinguishing fact from fiction has become increasingly challenging, even for adults.

Children are particularly vulnerable to fake news and misleading narratives spread through social media feeds and messaging apps. Ofcom’s “Children’s Media Lives 2025 Summary Report” indicates that children’s news consumption is predominantly passive, occurring through social media feeds. This, naturally, raises questions about its impact on their broader understanding of the world. (Ofcom, 2025).

This can lead to skewed perceptions of reality, an inability to critically assess information, and even susceptibility to radicalisation, ultimately harming their ability to form informed opinions and engage constructively with society.

The Children’s Rights Alliance (2025) report specifically criticizes the “over-reliance on children, parents and teachers to act as frontline defenders in a space dominated by powerful tech platforms” regarding such content.

 

Radicalisation and Extremist Content: Indoctrination and Dangerous Ideologies

Online spaces, including seemingly innocuous platforms, are increasingly used by extremist groups to groom and radicalise young people.

As detailed in the Global Terrorism Index 2025 report, AI-generated content and immersive VR environments are being leveraged to create highly convincing propaganda, accelerating radicalization from passive consumption to active participation. (Vision of Humanity, 2025).

These groups exploit vulnerabilities, offering a false sense of belonging or purpose to disillusioned youth, potentially leading to the adoption of dangerous ideologies and real-world harms for individuals and communities.

 

Harmful Self-Image & Online Pressure: Fostering Insecurities and Self-Harm

Beyond explicit content, the internet can expose children to harmful narratives around body image, self-harm, and eating disorders. Social media algorithms can create “echo chambers” that promote unhealthy ideals or even guide users towards dangerous communities.

Ireland’s new Online Safety Code (2024/2025) specifically mandates platforms to restrict content promoting eating disorders, self-harm, and suicide, acknowledging these as significant dangers that can directly lead to profound emotional distress and physical harm for affected individuals. (Coimisiún na Meán, Bird & Bird, Better Internet for Kids, 2024/2025).

 

Online Gambling & Scams: Financial Exploitation and Emotional Distress

While outright gambling sites are often age-restricted, children can encounter subtle forms of gambling through in-game purchases, loot boxes, and skin betting, which normalizes chance-based rewards.

Furthermore, sophisticated online scams and phishing attempts increasingly target young users, exploiting their trust and digital naivety, leading to financial loss and significant emotional distress for both the children and their families.

 

Adult-Orientated Chat Rooms & Unsupervised Interaction: Grooming and Exploitation

Online gaming platforms, social media, and chat apps can expose children to unfiltered conversations with strangers, including predators.

The Sky News survey (2025) found a staggering 75% of under-16s had been contacted by strangers through social media and online gaming, underscoring the prevalence of this risk. These interactions can lead to grooming, exploitation, and long-term psychological trauma for the children involved.

 

 

The Imperative for Parental Involvement in 2025

The sheer volume, accessibility, and insidious nature of inappropriate content in 2025 make proactive parental involvement not merely a suggestion, but an absolute necessity. As the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) highlighted in their May 2025 study, “Parental Controls for Online Safety are Underutilized,” despite the growing availability of technical safeguards. (FOSI, 2025). Relying solely on technology is insufficient; a combination of tools and continuous engagement is required.

 

 

Essential Advice for Parents

 Open and Ongoing Dialogue is Paramount

No technology is 100% reliable. The most powerful tool you possess is open communication with your child. Regularly discuss what they’re seeing and doing online, and encourage them to come to you if they encounter anything that upsets, confuses, or worries them.

FOSI’s 2025 study found that 89% of children feel comfortable talking to their parents if something online makes them feel unsafe, highlighting this critical opportunity.

 

• Emphasise Age-Appropriate Content: Help them understand why certain material isn’t for them. Focus on their developing minds and emotional well-being rather than just saying “it’s bad.”

 

• Establish Agreed Rules: Collaborate on clear, consistent rules for online access, content, and screen time. Discuss what they should and shouldn’t access on a device, along with the consequences of breaking these rules.

 

• Reassure Them: It’s OK to Tell: Reinforce that it’s always okay to tell you if they stumble upon something upsetting or inappropriate, or if someone makes them feel uncomfortable online, without fear of judgment or punishment.

 

 

Parental Controls Are a Necessity, Not an Option

• Install on All Devices: Ensure you install and actively manage parental controls on all internet-connected devices in your home—smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, smart TVs, and even your home router.

 

• Ireland’s Coimisiún na Meán’s Online Safety Code (2024/2025) places new binding rules on video-sharing platforms to have age assurance and parental controls in place, making it easier to utilise these features.

 

• Understand Their Limitations: While essential, remember that parental controls aren’t fool proof. Children can be tech-savvy, and content can slip through filters. Combining controls with supervision and communication is key.

 

 

Become Digitally Literate Yourself

• Stay Informed: Keep abreast of popular apps, games, and online trends your children engage with. Understanding the platforms helps you understand the risks. The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) welcomed the 2025 Online Safety Monitor report, stressing the need for parents and educators to be equipped to protect children in digital environments. (INTO, 2025).

 

• Check Privacy Settings: Regularly review the privacy settings on all accounts and apps your child uses.

 

• Discuss Algorithms: Help your child understand how algorithms work and how they can lead to unexpected or repetitive content, including harmful content.

Engage with Other Parents and the Community

• Discuss Internet Access: Have conversations with other parents in your social circle or your child’s school community. Make your position on internet access clear. While you may have secured your devices, other households may not have, potentially exposing your child through their friends’ devices.

 

• Leverage Resources: Utilise resources from organisations like Webwise (Irish Safer Internet Centre), which provides expert advice, guides to popular apps, and talking points for parents. (Webwise, 2025).

 

• Ireland’s Literacy, Numeracy and Digital Literacy Strategy 2024-2033 also emphasises empowering parents to support their children’s digital literacy. (Gov.ie, Department of Education, 2025).

 

 

Report and Take Action

• If you encounter illegal content (like child sexual abuse material) or severely harmful content that a platform fails to remove, report it to the platform first. If dissatisfied, contact relevant regulatory bodies like Coimisiún na Meán in Ireland, which oversees the Online Safety Code.

 

By embracing a proactive, informed, and communicative approach, parents can empower their children to navigate the complexities of the online world more safely in 2025, building resilience against the ever-present dangers of inappropriate content.

 

 

Other Links of interest

Ireland’s Online Safety Code and how platforms can comply on Yoti: Ireland’s Online Safety Code and how platforms can comply

Online Safety Code on Coimisiún na Meán (the Irish media regulator): Online Safety Code – Coimisiún na Meán

Online safety information for citizens from Citizens Information: Online safety – Citizens Information

Ireland’s online safety code – a guide for parents on Better Internet for Kids (an EU initiative): Ireland’s online safety code – a guide for parents

 

 

Partner with Children of the Digital Age for Comprehensive Online Safety

At Children of the Digital Age, we are at the forefront of educating and supporting parents. Understanding and mitigating the dangers of inappropriate content is a cornerstone of our mission.

We provide workshops, resources, and personalised guidance on all aspects of digital parenting. This includes everything from setting up effective parental controls to fostering critical digital literacy in your children. For robust support in protecting your family from online risks, please don’t hesitate to contact Children of the Digital Age. We are dedicated to ensuring your children not only stay safe but also thrive in their online environment. Your child’s digital wellbeing and online safety remain our utmost priority.

 

© 2025 Children of the Digital Age. All rights reserved. | Last Updated: July 2025