What shapes a young person’s behaviour online? Often, it’s not direct pressure, it’s repeated exposure. New research found that TikTok content frequently portrays illicit vaping as funny, fashionable, and normal, reaching millions of youth and teens. This article explores how algorithms can quietly normalize risky behaviours, why conversation matters more than panic, and why safety by design may be a more effective solution than age-gating alone.

Digital literacy isn’t optional—it’s survival. In today’s AI-driven, algorithm-curated, data-harvesting onlife world, our kids need critical thinking, not bans.