During my free time, I sometimes watch AI-generated stories on TikTok about mafias and powerful families. At my age, I know how to regulate myself and see them for what they are: entertainment and fantasy.

Because, to be honest, what is there to admire about the mafia? They torture, they kill, and they intimidate people in their pursuit of power and money. Yet somehow, these stories can be incredibly addictive.

A lot of women I know are hooked on them, too. And somehow, I began to realize that perhaps there is a particular female fantasy behind their popularity: the fantasy of having an alpha male who protects you.

What’s addictive about these AI stories is not necessarily the mafia itself, but the way the male protagonists are portrayed. They are tall, masculine, extremely attractive, powerful, wealthy, and feared by everyone. They may be ruthless toward the rest of the world, but when it comes to the woman they love, they become fiercely protective and devoted.

Perhaps that is the fantasy; the idea that a powerful man can handle the dangers of the world, while you are the one person he would protect at all costs.

It made me think of my mother.

When she was my age, she read Mills & Boon pocketbooks. The romantic fantasy of her generation came through those little books: handsome men, powerful families, forbidden love, wealth, and dramatic relationships.

Now, perhaps, it is AI-generated TikTok stories taking over.

The medium has changed, but perhaps the fantasy hasn’t changed that much.

There is, however, one thing I don’t like about these stories: how easily accessible and algorithmically driven TikTok can be. Unlike traditional television, where programs generally go through established ratings and classification systems, short-form content on social media can appear very quickly and repeatedly in a young person’s feed.

That concerns me when the audience is underage girls who are still developing their understanding of relationships, morality, and consequences.

Mafia stories often romanticize vengeance, possessiveness, violence, and ruthlessness. For an adult who understands that these are fictional fantasies, it may simply be escapism. But for a young girl who is still figuring out what love, power, and relationships are supposed to look like, repeated exposure to these stories can blur the line between what is dramatic and what is actually healthy or moral.

I don’t think children need to be completely sheltered from every dark story. But I do think they need the maturity to understand the difference between a fantasy that is entertaining and a behavior that should never be admired in real life.

Maybe that’s the real difference between my mother’s Mills & Boon and today’s AI mafia stories.

My mother had to open a book to enter her fantasy.

Today’s girls only have to open TikTok.