I Grew Up Watching Trauma on TV. Here's What It Did to Me.

My father was a TV news anchorman. Every night, I'd sit in the living room and watch him deliver the news. Car accidents. Murders. Wars. Disasters.

I was six years old.

I didn't understand what I was seeing. But I saw it anyway.

The News Was My Normal

Most kids watched cartoons. I watched the 6 o'clock news.

My dad would come home, suit still on, and tell me stories from the day. "We covered a shooting downtown." "There was a fire on the east side." "The war in the Middle East is getting worse."

This was normal to me. This was my childhood.

I didn't know it then, but I was absorbing trauma before I could even name it.

What It Did to Me

I grew up with a strange relationship to information. I could process graphic images without flinching. I could read about tragedies without crying. I thought I was tough.

I wasn't tough. I was numb.

The trauma didn't disappear. It just went somewhere else. Anxiety. Hypervigilance. An inability to relax. A constant feeling that something bad was about to happen.

It took me years to understand: the news I watched as a child shaped my nervous system.

The War Brought It Back

In October 2023, the Israel war started. And suddenly, my social media feeds were filled with graphic images I never consented to see.

Videos of violence. Photos of destruction. Graphic content that appeared without warning.

I had spent years learning to manage my media consumption. I had practiced mindfulness. I had done therapy. I had learned to protect my mental space.

But the algorithms didn't care about my healing. They showed me what got engagement. And violence gets engagement.

I looked at my phone and saw my childhood playing out again. Except this time, it wasn't just on TV. It was in my pocket. In my bedroom. In the moments I was trying to relax.

I Couldn't Look Away

The worst part? I couldn't stop scrolling.

I knew the content was hurting me. I knew I should close the app. But the algorithms are designed to keep you there. Every swipe brings something new. Every refresh shows you something else.

There's no pause button. There's no rating system. There's no way to say "I don't want to see this."

You can only scroll faster.

I Started Building Something Different

I had been working on a different app—a creator platform, something like Patreon. But when the war started, I couldn't think about that anymore.

I kept thinking: why is there no rating system for social media?

Movies have ratings. TV has ratings. Video games have ratings. But the most consumed media in human history—the thing we look at for hours every day—has no rating system at all.

So I pivoted. I started building something different.

CleoSocial Is My Answer

I built a social app that asks you one question before you scroll:

"What content are you comfortable with today?"

• G: Suitable for all ages
• PG: Mild content, some supervision suggested
• PG-13: Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13
• R: Restricted, adult content

You choose. The app adjusts. Done.

No surprises. No ambush. Just the content you consented to see.

This Isn't About Addiction

People talk about social media addiction. Screen time limits. Digital wellbeing dashboards.

But the problem isn't how long you spend. The problem is what you see during that time.

You can set a 30-minute timer. But if in minute 2 you see something traumatic, your day is ruined. No time limit would have helped.

The problem is unexpected content. And rating systems are the solution.

I Built This for My Six-Year-Old Self

I can't go back and protect myself from what I saw. But I can build something that protects others.

Every time someone opens CleoSocial and chooses "G-rated content only," I think of the six-year-old who didn't have that choice.

Every time someone avoids seeing something traumatic, I think of all the people who didn't avoid it.

This is why I built this. Not for engagement. Not for money. For the people who are still being hurt by content they never consented to see.

You're Not Alone

If you grew up absorbing trauma from screens, you're not alone. If you've been ambushed by graphic content on social media, you're not alone. If you've ever felt like you couldn't look away, you're not alone.

The platforms weren't designed to protect you. They were designed to keep you scrolling.

But you deserve better. We all do.

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I'm Dan, the founder of CleoSocial. This is my story. If it resonates with you, join us. We're building social media that respects your mind.