According to new analysis, screen time could damage children more than being born into poverty. The findings from the University of Calgary say higher doses of screen exposure are associated with lower overall academic achievement, poorer language development and emotional and peer problems.

So what’s it actually like to be a 17-year-old on social media? What material are you fed – and how quickly?

Crime and justice reporter Amber Schultz found out after she created new accounts posing first as a teenage boy, and then as a girl.

Today, Schultztalks about her descent into the algorithm and what surprised her.

 

Further reading:
Posing as a 17-year-old girl online, I expected body image content. I got gender division
I posed as a 17-year-old boy on social media. It took 13 minutes to be shown the manosphere



The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

According to new analysis, screen time could damage children more than being born into poverty. The findings from the University of Calgary say higher doses of screen exposure are associated with lower overall academic achievement, poorer language development and emotional and peer problems.
So what&rsquo;s it actually like to be a 17-year-old on social media? What material are you fed &ndash; and how quickly?
Crime and justice reporter Amber Schultz found out after she&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/posing-as-a-17-year-old-girl-online-i-expected-body-image-content-i-got-gender-division-20260910-p60wef.html?utm_source=omny&amp;utm_medium=podcast_notes&amp;utm_campaign=the_morning_edition&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=newsroom">created new accounts posing first as a teenage boy, and then as a girl.</a>
Today, Schultz talks about her descent into the algorithm and what surprised her.
&nbsp;
Further reading:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/posing-as-a-17-year-old-girl-online-i-expected-body-image-content-i-got-gender-division-20260910-p60wef.html?utm_source=omny&amp;utm_medium=podcast_notes&amp;utm_campaign=the_morning_edition&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=newsroom">Posing as a 17-year-old girl online, I expected body image content. I got gender division</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/i-posed-as-a-17-year-old-boy-on-social-media-it-took-13-minutes-to-be-shown-the-manosphere-20260903-p60u1b.html?utm_source=omny&amp;utm_medium=podcast_notes&amp;utm_campaign=the_morning_edition&amp;utm_content=&amp;utm_term=newsroom">I posed as a 17-year-old boy on social media. It took 13 minutes to be shown the manosphere</a></li>
</ul>
 The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris, from the newsrooms of<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/"> The Sydney Morning Herald</a> and<a href="https://www.theage.com.au/"> The Age</a>, weekdays from 5am.
If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, rate, review and subscribe on<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/channel/smh-the-age/id6442611511"> Apple</a>,<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1v0tWOA2mdi5WU9hvjJ3da?si=f4b8d7fafdf5495d"> Spotify</a>,<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrLulycax3584BxKI1ZqSySsouknCWiUa"> YouTube</a> or whichever platform you find your podcasts.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

If you enjoy this podcast and want to hear more, please rate, review & subscribe on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or whichever platform you find your pods.

The Morning Edition&nbsp;brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/by/samantha-selinger-morris-p4yvwp">Samantha Selinger-Morris</a> from the newsrooms of <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/">The Sydney Morning Herald</a> and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/">The Age</a>, weekdays from 5am.
If you enjoy this podcast and want to hear more, please rate, review &amp; subscribe on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/channel/smh-the-age/id6442611511">Apple</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1v0tWOA2mdi5WU9hvjJ3da?si=f4b8d7fafdf5495d">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrLulycax3584BxKI1ZqSySsouknCWiUa">YouTube</a>&nbsp;or whichever platform you&nbsp;find your pods.

I was a teenage boy online. It took 13 minutes for the manosphere to come

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/88b564ea-a9a6-4751-910a-a5d800019396/clips/b3dc1f97-7e6c-4bae-b836-b4d700540605/transcript