Child Protection and Vulnerability in the Context of Uncensored Social Media

This systematic review examines the multifaceted challenges of child protection and vulnerability within uncensored social media environments, focusing on trends from 2020 to 2025. The pervasive integration of social media into children's lives, driven by engagement-maximizing algorithms, exposes them to significant risks including harmful content, cyberbullying, online grooming, and exploitation. A critical new threat identified is the proliferation of AI-generated content, particularly synthetic child sexual abuse material (CSAM), which complicates traditional detection and prevention efforts. The review synthesizes findings on the psychological, developmental, and social impacts of such exposure, revealing increased rates of anxiety, depression, body image issues, and sleep disruption among young users. An assessment of current protective measures— including parental mediation, platform self-regulation, and legislative initiatives— reveals them to be largely insufficient, reactive, and fragmented, failing to keep pace with rapid technological advancements. The study concludes by proposing comprehensive, collaborative strategies for stakeholders including parents, educators, policymakers, and tech companies, emphasizing the urgent need for a fundamental shift towards child-safe platform design, robust regulatory frameworks, and advanced AI-powered protective mechanisms to foster a safer online environment for children.