Social Media
Pinterest Isn't as Harmless as It Looks
Pinterest looks like a craft and recipe app, and for most adults that's mostly what it is. For teens, especially teen girls, the algorithm moves fast toward thinspo, dieting and "aesthetic" posts about how you should look, and Pinterest never quite manages to filter it out.
Why this matters for your kid
A teen who searches for dieting or weight loss on Pinterest can start seeing a lot more of it in their feed. Pinterest blocks searches like thinspo, but stuff about eating disorders can still slip in under other words. What shows up on your kid's feed isn't what shows up on yours, even though it's the same app.
What gets past Pinterest's rules
Pinterest has rules against thinspo and content that pushes eating disorders, but the algorithm rewards whatever people engage with, and people engage with that stuff a lot. New tags and workarounds pop up faster than Pinterest can ban them.
What you might notice
Watch for long Pinterest sessions before bed, a sudden focus on how they look or what they eat, and boards named with "aesthetic" words you don't recognize. Look at what they actually pin, because that's where you'll see what the app is really feeding them.
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