Report: Youth exposure to extreme content on Instagram and TikTok in Bodø, Norway.

In this report we have analyzed how youth in Bodø, Norway is exposed to extreme content on Instagram and TikTok and how they handle it. We have applied a mixed methods approach with focus groups interviews with youth and a netnography of Instagrram and TikTok.

The conclusion is clear: Young people in Bodø are exposed to a high degree of violations, bullying, and extreme content on social media. Social media amplifies the pressure on vulnerable groups in Bodø, and this particularly applies to Sami people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of immigrant background. Young men are exposed to glorification of violence and degradation of women. Young women are exposed to self-harm. What they share is a feeling that extreme content is unavoidable.