We know violent and gory videos exist online. Teens are seeing more of them than you’d think – CBC
When people see this content, ‘the brain learns that that’s acceptable,’ says psychiatrist
Jun 26, 2026
To keep up with world events, Grade 12 student Hanna Grover ventures online, like most teens do. But she finds it “disturbing” that violent content regularly pops up — often appearing from questionable sources or without context.
The Surrey, B.C., high schooler said she has seen “brutal short-form videos that one, provide absolutely no context on what’s happening, and two, are just very graphic and often not from verified sources. They’re just individual, private users posting videos.”
As well, Grover said, “I’ve seen influencers and commentary accounts do stories on these kinds of very graphic events and using [that] footage because they know that it will provide them with engagement.”
Friends scrolling for entertainment — and not news specifically — also see this kind of content, Grover added.
“Those disturbing images stay with me. Graphic content stays in your head and sometimes you will find yourself thinking about it days later.”
Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/teens-violent-gory-content-social-9.7244772
