Distorted perception in 10 minutes on TikTok: social media influences the rise of eating disorders

On many social media sites, messages about food and diet are ubiquitous. The recommended “for you” feed on TikTok can shape negative body image - this is particularly troubling among teenage girls.

Writes UNN with reference to New Scientist.

Details

Many girls spend hours every day scrolling through social media. Recently, it was found that just ten minutes on an app already has consequences for women's mental health.

The fact is that on many social media sites, messages about food and diets are everywhere.

Watch the “for you” feed on TikTok for more than a few minutes - recommended content for a specific user of the app - and you're almost guaranteed to see a video of someone showing you #whatieatinaday (#wieiad for short) or explaining how their diet has changed their body.

There is growing evidence that it can affect people's body image, especially among adolescent girls, which can lead to conditions such as anorexia.

The Australian study was conducted among 273 women aged 18 to 28. In 2021, they were asked about their use of TikTok from July to October. In addition, they checked whether the women had symptoms of eating disorders. Among other things, they were also asked about their body image and attitudes toward beauty ideals.

During the study, half of the women were shown TikTok pages aimed at anorexia. The other half were shown neutral TikToks.

After 8-10 minutes, the women who were shown about anorexia were already less satisfied with their bodies. They also compared themselves more often to the ideals of thinness.

It is also striking that both the group with anorexia content and the group with neutral content experienced a decrease in positive body image after watching the short videos.

“Our study shows that less than ten minutes of exposure to covert and overt pro-anorexic TikTok content has immediate negative consequences on body image and internalization of appearance ideals,” the study's researchers wrote in a press release.

To recap

The Australian Parliament has passed a revolutionary law banning social media for children under 16 . Violations of the law will result in fines of up to $32.1 million for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Primary mental health support: what will change in 202510.12.24, 00:23 • 14772 views