Social media has evolved from an organic tool for connection into an unregulated, profit-driven environment. It is now being described as a "national crisis."

The manufactured addictiveness of social media is taking away agency from the user, while fostering dangerous and divisive material to drive engagement. 

The results of this are consequences that move beyond the online space, and into a very dystopic reality. 

Chanel Contos, the founder of Teach Us Consent and the lead behind the Fix Our Feed campaign, warns that recommendation algorithms are no longer just tools for content delivery but are actively reshaping societal values. 

“The current state of our social media is one of the biggest threats to social cohesion and democracy in Australia right now because of its polarising nature,” she said. 

Chanel Contos began advocating for women’s safety against sexual violence in 2021, when she founded a platform to give a voice to Australian women who had experienced abuse. The pioneer for wholistic high school consent education, says the link between digital spaces and sexual abuse is not a stretch. 

“With the algorithm that promotes misogynistic content and misinformation about women, I now think that the algorithm is one of the biggest drivers of sexual violence in Australia in terms of shaping those attitudes and cultural norms,” she said.

Algorithms are designed to feed off and profit from outrage, radicalisation and division – creating a landscape of hate. 

The speed at which these platforms influence users is a major point of concern. Research shows it takes as little as 23 minutes for a teenage boy to be bombarded with misogynistic content after joining a platform

This content often originates in the ‘manosphere’ – a collection of online networks that promote misogynistic ideologies. Content ranges through everything from ‘red pill’ culture (the idea that men have to be ‘woken up’ to the ways in which they are being exploited) to ‘incel’ communities (men who are ‘involuntarily celibate’).

Contos says these spaces often tell men they must adhere to specific standards to be successful and blame women for their failures. 

“The manosphere is full of content that is either explicitly or subtly promoting harmful attitudes towards women and relationships,” she said. 

This has led to a startling generational shift: a young man in Australia today is likely to hold more misogynistic beliefs than a 70-year-old man. 

Contos warns of a "mismatch in fundamental values" between young men and increasingly feminist young women, which could have long-term impacts on relationships and societal cooperation. 

The root of this issue lies in the business model of ‘surveillance capitalism’ and attention economy, where user engagement is the primary source of revenue. 

Contos says that platforms are "intentionally engineered to be addictive," tracking spending habits, desires, and insecurities to keep users online. 

“Our attention is their money. We've pivoted to an attention economy where any time we spend on their applications is good for them. Any time we spend doing anything else, like getting lunch with friends or sleeping, is a loss for them and time away from their profits,” she said. 

To combat these harms, the Fix Our Feed campaign is calling for a simple yet transformative policy: a mandatory opt-in feature for algorithms. 

This would give users the autonomy to turn recommendation algorithms off, reverting their feeds to a chronological, organic state. 

While the Australian government has implemented a social media ban for those under 16, Contos says this is only a first step and that the harms of algorithms affect users of all ages. 

"Every Australian deserves the choice of how they’re going to consume this product," she says. 

“We must demand that Australians are put before the interests of these multi-billion-dollar companies.”