Social Media's Role in the Glamorization of Eating Disorders

Hello beautiful! I hope you're doing well! Today's post is about a more sensitive topic, so if you're not comfortable reading about eating disorders, this is your sign to exit this tab. Before I start off today's post, I want to tell everyone that I've never been diagnosed with an eating disorder, I'm not a doctor, and I've never done any professional research on any of the topics that I'm going to talk about. I have, however, done my own personal research about disordered eating and its promotion on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok over the past few months.

My own experiences relating to body positivity didn't involve social media because my parents didn't allow me to get personal accounts on most platforms, and I only got Instagram recently to help with this blog. But, from my own research, social media usually has negative effects on a young person's opinion of themself and their body, for more reasons than one.

There's a really disturbing side of every social media platform that encourages young women and girls to become skinny by any means possible and shames them for existing in any body below their standards (SkinnyTok, SkinnyGram). These influencers create a mindset that tells girls that their health is less important than their looks and pushes them to sacrifice the former in pursuit of the latter. This is the first reason why social media becomes harmful for many insecure teenagers: toxic creators.

Toxic Creators

Some of these influencers have huge fanbases which means messages spread quickly. Remember, at the end of the day, an influencer's job is supposed to make them money. I would like to believe that an influencer wouldn't spread ideas that would harm their audience purely out of greed, but it's the truth. Creators with massive followings can tell their followers whatever it takes to make more money on every video and start quick trends that spread like wildfire.

But the glamorization of thinness has been around for years, even before social media took off; it's not "just a trend." The real developing problem is that people spend much more time on social media now than people spent reading magazines or watching TV in the early 2000's when the ultra-thin "aesthetic" was popularized. That brings me to the second reason why social media is so powerful in influencing people's opinions of themselves: addicting format.

Scrolling Format

Most social media platforms include a scrolling portion on the app(reels, shorts). Studies have proven that this structure pulls in the user and makes it harder to exit the app. Because of how much time we spend scrolling, we see hundreds of videos every day, and we internalize all of that information that is being thrown at us, whether we realize it or not.

All of the content we see contributes to the way that we see ourselves and our bodies, and when we're bombarded with images of seemingly flawless bodies(which are usually edited and have massive production teams making them look as perfect as possible) we can forget that our own bodies are just fine.

The third(and maybe most disturbing) reason why social media is so detrimental for body image is greedy platforms.

Money Hungry Networks

Social media platforms use an algorithm to track what videos you like and curate your feed just for you. I think we all knew that, but you might be surprised to learn that the platforms don't do much to protect its users from harmful content.

For example, a study conducted to test the TikTok algorithm revealed that victims of eating disorders are more likely to be shown videos about dieting, exercise, and appearance. The study also proved that these videos worsen symptoms for the viewers with eating disorders. They know that it will harm you and your mental health, but they also know that those videos will keep you scrolling which will make them more wealthy.

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I'm telling you this because I hope that if you know about these issues, you'll be able to question these videos when you see them on your feed. More people need to know that eating disorders aren't an aesthetic, they aren't a trend, and they aren't something to downplay.

Starving yourself to achieve a beauty standard as fickle as the wind will do more than steal your health; it will steal your energy, your ability to pursue your passions. It will steal everything that makes you the amazing person that you are and replace it with self-hatred. I hate that this is the way so many young girls see themselves, so I want to do all that I can to prevent it from spreading further.

Every single time you see a video that makes you feel inferior, click the "not interested" button and swipe past it as fast as possible. That will tell the algorithm that you're not interested in videos similar to it.

I would also unfollow creators that make content that is degrading or harmful to you to prevent it from popping up on you feed again.

Those two things should keep most negative videos off your feed, but they probably won't solve the problem entirely. Hurtful videos will still appear on your social media feed, and the only way to protect yourself is to actively question what you see. Ask yourself these questions:

"Do I know anything about this person's health situation?"

"Does this person's beauty make me ugly?"

"Do I have the cosmetic resources that this person has?"

"Is this person as doctor and are they giving me personalized medical advice?"

If the answer to most of those questions is no (it usually is) I would suggest taking a step back from your phone and reminding yourself of the reality: the people that we see online aren't perfect because there is no such thing as perfection. We are all beautiful just the way we are. Not when you lose a few pounds, not when your skin clears up. Now.

Remember, if you ever need a hand, girl, let me help!