Understanding people’s experiences of distressing and harmful content online

17 Sep 2026 12:32 PM

As the UK regulator for online safety, hearing from the public and understanding people’s lived experiences online is an important way of informing our work.

We recently completed three pieces of research, looking at how adults encounter or experience different types of sensitive and harmful content online. We conducted this research in part to help us understand how people navigate platforms where distressing content can appear, and the tools they use, or want to use, to manage what they see. The studies have also helped us update our evidence base on illegal content. Together, the research highlights both the benefits and challenges of online life, and the importance of people having greater control over their online experiences while maintaining choice about the content they see.

Here we highlight some of the key findings from this research, what they tell us about people’s experiences online and how these insights shape our work on online safety.

Seeing sensitive or distressing content online can be a daily occurrence

In one of our studies, people described encountering a wide range of sensitive content as a common part of their online experience. This included graphic violence, sexually explicit material, and content relating to mental health that could promote suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. This made many of them feel discomfort, anger or shock.

The research also highlighted how some people are more exposed to risks online than others. People from a range of minority groups talked about seeing hate and discrimination online and how this affected their sense of physical safety. Women were more likely than men to talk about encountering excessive amounts of sensitive content, such as sexist direct messages and content focused on extreme thinness.

People often encounter this content unexpectedly

The research also highlighted how people often encounter sensitive content unintentionally. Some people also described how they unexpectedly encountered content that, from what they described, was likely to be illegal.

Some said sensitive content is difficult to avoid, appearing unexpectedly in online spaces they use every day. People frequently described encountering content through personalised feeds, recommendations and comments sections, rather than actively searching for it.

In our recent study on online hate, more than three-quarters of people said they had encountered content they perceived as hateful during the previous year. We also found that some groups were more likely than others to encounter hateful content. For example, 90% of LGBTQ+ people and 85% of people from minority ethnic backgrounds said they had seen such content online. Generally, people were also more likely to encounter hate directed at communities they themselves belonged to.

Among those who had encountered hate, over three-quarters said they had seen it while simply scrolling online, and more than half had encountered it in comments or reply sections.

Experiences of suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content

This trend was also clear in another recent study looking at how people come across content promoting suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. Even when people had initially sought out this content intentionally, for example while experiencing severe mental health challenges or disordered eating, this kind of material could continue appearing long after they no longer wanted to see it, and when they were often trying to recover from difficult personal experiences. Sometimes people encountered this upsetting content when videos were automatically played to them on popular sites they used, and at other times they came across it in online spaces that were supposed to be supportive.  

Greater control, but not less choice

A consistent theme across the research was that people want greater control over their online experiences. They want tools that help them manage what they see online, and to reduce their exposure to content they find upsetting or harmful. They appreciate measures such as the ability to block and mute other people, as well as tools that allow them to signal that they want to see less of certain types of content.

People also felt strongly about the importance of retaining choice. We asked people about their use of tools to filter out types of content they saw too much of, including online hate. Some people wanted to use these tools to protect their mental health or have a more positive online experience and were frustrated that they weren’t easier to find or use. But there was also reluctance from some people who wanted to be aware of issues affecting their communities, support other users being attacked online, or be informed about what was happening in the world around them – even if that meant continuing to encounter potentially distressing content. Some worried that extensive filtering could make it harder to encounter different perspectives or engage with important conversations.

We also asked people about content warnings, including those that require users to make a conscious decision about whether to view the content, such as clicking on it. As well as finding these more useful than warnings that disappear after a few seconds, people sometimes preferred such features to the idea of hiding categories of content entirely as they are given more information rather than simply removing content from view. This reflected a broader desire for online environments that provide both protection and choice – though in some cases seemed potentially influenced by the fear of missing out on content that other people are seeing.

Why this research matters

Understanding people's experiences online is an important part of the evidence base for Ofcom's online safety work. Research like this helps us understand not only the kinds of content people encounter online, but also how experiences can differ across individuals and communities, and how people want to navigate these experiences.

These insights have contributed to our evidence base and helped to inform our policy development for our recent consultation, Giving users more choice, control and trust in their online experience. This consultation includes proposals for how certain online services can give people greater control over the content they see and the people they interact with online.

We are also inviting you to provide feedback on the proposals we have put forward in our consultation, which is open until 2 October 2026.