SafeScroll
🧑 Ages 13–19 · Teenagers
⏱ 10 minutes
Algorithm Audit
What Is Your Feed Actually Showing You?
A 10-minute exercise to understand what social media algorithms have learned about you — and a step-by-step guide to resetting your recommendations.
TikTok · Instagram · YouTube
Media Literacy UK
Ofcom 2023
What this exercise is: An algorithm is a set of rules that decides what content you see next, based on everything you've previously watched, liked, paused on, or searched for. This audit helps you see those patterns clearly — and gives you the tools to change them if you want to.
How algorithms learn what to show you
👁️
Watch time
How long you spend on each video. Pausing, rewatching, or scrolling away immediately all count as signals.
❤️
Engagement
Likes, comments, shares, and saves tell the algorithm you want more of that type of content.
🔁
Reinforcement loops
The more you see content on a theme, the more you'll see — the algorithm narrows over time unless you disrupt it.
The 10-minute audit — step by step
Don't like, comment, or share anything. Just observe what appears. You're looking at what the algorithm already thinks you want to see.
TikTok
Instagram
YouTube
Snapchat
Pinterest
Platform I'm auditing today
Scroll back through the last 20 posts/videos in your feed. Tally how many fall into each category below. There may be overlap — pick the dominant theme.
😂 Entertainment / humour
out of 20
💄 Beauty / body image / fashion
out of 20
🎮 Gaming / tech / sport
out of 20
😰 News / drama / conflict
out of 20
🌱 Wellness / mental health / motivation
out of 20
📦 Ads / sponsored / product promotion
out of 20
What theme dominates my feed?
Go back through the same 20 items. This time, mark any piece of content that made you feel: anxious, inadequate, left out, or irritated — even slightly.
I found content that made me compare myself to others (body, lifestyle, success)
I found content that made me feel anxious or stressed about the world
I found content that felt designed to make me angry or outraged
I found content I watched even though I knew it wasn't making me feel good
Roughly how many of the 20 items made me feel worse?
Based on what you saw in your audit, answer these questions honestly. The goal is awareness — not judgement.
The algorithm thinks I'm most interested in…
Is that actually true? Is there anything missing from my feed I'd prefer to see?
One thing I want to see less of in my feed is…
One thing I want to see more of is…
After the reset — follow-up questions
Check back in after 7 days and answer these:
Has my feed changed since I completed the audit and reset?
Am I more aware now of when I'm being shown content designed to make me feel a certain way?
What's one thing I've changed about how I use the platform since doing this audit?
Want a complete teen digital wellness framework?
Our Teen Digital Survival Guide covers algorithms, social media pressure, gaming, sleep, and practical tools for parents and teenagers to navigate the online world together.
Browse the guides →