More than a third of 11- to 18-year-olds in England reported coming across self-harm content online in the past month, according to an analysis of the 2025 OxWell Student Survey. The study drew on data from 32,102 students in school years 7 to 13 at 49 secondary schools and further education colleges, largely in Liverpool and Oxfordshire, who completed the survey between February and May 2025.
Most exposures were unintentional. Among those who reported encountering self-harm content, 66% said it had appeared in their feed or had been suggested while they were browsing, and 24% said it was embedded within other, unrelated content. Fewer described accidental encounters (12%), actively searching for the content (8%), or having it shared with them by someone else (8%), with 15% reporting another route.
When the routes of exposure were categorised, nearly three-quarters (73%) of those exposed encountered self-harm content only via passive routes, 12% through a mix of routes, 9% through other routes, and 3% only because the content was shared with them or only because they searched for it (each 3%).
Frequency of exposure depended on the route. Those exposed passively or through content shared by others tended to see the material only once or twice in the past month, while those who actively searched for it or experienced a mix of routes were more likely to report multiple encounters. The researchers note this pattern aligns with a feedback loop in which engaging with self-harm content leads to further similar material being shown by algorithms.
Exposure was associated with higher levels of loneliness, online harms, anxiety, and depression compared with students with no exposure, though patterns varied by group. Girls had higher odds than boys of passive-only exposure but lower odds of having content shared with them, while trans and gender-diverse students showed elevated odds across most routes, particularly for searching the content. Black students and students from mixed ethnic backgrounds were more likely than white students to have only searched for the content, as were students who often went to bed hungry.
Searching for self-harm content was most strongly linked to depression, while having content shared with them was more closely tied to receiving aggressive or threatening messages online. Students exposed through a mix of routes exhibited some of the most pronounced risk patterns, with strong links to online aggression and coercion.
“Exposure to online self-harm content is widespread and shaped by distinct pathways that differ according to adolescents’ wider vulnerabilities, social environments and digital behaviours. Around one-third of our large community sample reported recent exposure, underscoring the need for interventions that account for diverse exposure experiences, from passive, algorithmically driven delivery to more intentional searches and peer sharing,” the study authors concluded.
The authors advocate a public health approach that combines regulation to reduce self-harm content in feeds, efforts to direct young people who search for it toward supportive resources, and digital literacy education for adolescents and their parents.
The study contributes to the understanding of how adolescents encounter self-harm content online. It is noted that the survey was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine whether loneliness, online harms, and mental health difficulties precede exposure or result from it. The researchers also did not specify what kinds of self-harm content students saw, which could range from graphic material to recovery stories and peer support.
In an earlier wave of the survey, about two-thirds of students who actively sought out self-harm content cited potentially positive motivations, such as finding support or connecting with others with similar experiences. The data were self-reported and drawn mainly from two regions of England, and the wording of the exposure question may have led some who sought it out to underreport.
The paper, “Algorithmically driven exposure to online self-harm content and its association with broader psychosocial risk in 32,000 adolescents,” was authored by Holly Bear, Emma Soneson, Galit Geulayov, and Mina Fazel.
