Gendered Digital Harms and Youth Ideological Trajectories: Socioconomic Challenges of Digital Platforms

The exponential expansion of algorithmic systems has intensified digital harms, particularly in the Global South. This paper investigates the embedded role of AI-driven digital platforms in producing gendered digital harms and shaping youth ideological trajectories across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, and Brazil. The paper’s purpose is to examine how algorithmic systems increase male youth exposure to misogynistic digital subcultures, disproportionately subject young women and girls to technology-facilitated violence, and how algorithmic misogyny is structurally embedded within platform governance and monetization models. Employing a qualitative, comparative research design, the paper synthesizes publicly available scholarly articles, NGO reports, and public datasets. Findings confirm that algorithmic curation systematically directs male youth toward misogynistic content, with over 65% reporting exposure across all countries, peaking at 81% in India. Young women and girls consistently experience high levels of online abuse, including unsolicited explicit content (up to 83% in Brazil) and deepfake exploitation (56% in Brazil), exacerbated by inadequate platform moderation (no platform scored above 46 out of 100). The paper establishes that engagement optimization, data capitalism, poorly trained AI models, socioeconomic challenges, and a lack of regulatory oversight structurally produce algorithmic misogyny. Both qualitative and quantitative data gathered across the five focus countries not only support but also decisively affirm this hypothesis. This evidence confirms that algorithmic infrastructures are active co-producers of ideological harm, necessitating justice-centered reforms for algorithmic transparency, gender-sensitive platform design, and community-embedded resistance strategies. The results can inform policymakers, technologists, and civil society efforts to foster safer and more equitable digital futures for youth.