Can Just 8 Minutes On TikTok Harm Young Women's Body Image? Study Weighs In
Spending just eight minutes on TikTok can make young women question their body image, according to a controlled study. This research highlights the harmful content affecting youngsters on the video-sharing platform.
The study titled '#ForYou? The impact of pro-ana TikTok content on body image dissatisfaction and internalisation of societal beauty standards' was co-authored by Madison R Blackburn and Rachel C Hogg.
Researchers created two focus groups, one exposed to TikTok content on dieting, weight loss, and exercise, known as 'pro-ana' or pro-anorexia content. This type of content glorifies disordered eating practices.
Impact of Pro-Anorexia Content
The aim was to find out the link between time spent on TikTok and disordered eating behaviours. A group of 273 women aged 18–28 were divided into two groups. One group watched pro-anorexia content, while the other viewed neutral TikTok videos.
Participants then answered questionnaires about their body image after watching the content. "Women exposed to pro-anorexia content displayed the greatest decrease in body image satisfaction and an increase in internalisation of societal beauty standards," said the study published in PLOS One journal. "Women exposed to neutral content also reported a decrease in body image satisfaction."
Content Internalisation
Besides having the biggest fall in body image satisfaction, those who watched pro-ana content also 'internalised' beauty standards more. Internalisation happens when someone accepts and identifies with external beauty standards, which is dangerous according to the study.
The study found that high and extreme daily TikTok users reported greater average disordered eating behaviour than participants with low and moderate use. Participants who used TikTok for over two hours per day "reported more disordered eating behaviours than less frequent users," though this was not statistically significant.
Pro-Anorexia Content Details
The pro-ana videos featured young creators in the 'fitspiration' category showing how they cut diets and gave fitness tips. Hacks like juice cleanses for weight loss were included in this content.
There are many habits and hacks being pushed on TikTok, like detoxing with juices and clean or limited diets under wellness hashtags like #GymTok and #FoodTok. Disorderly eating content included binge eating, laxative use or excessive exercise, said the study.
While watching potentially harmful content does not necessarily lead to harm, it is the 'internalisation' of this content that poses a risk. The study pointed out that internalisation occurs when someone accepts external beauty standards as their own.
This research underscores the need for awareness about the impact of social media on young women's body image and eating behaviours. It calls attention to how even short exposure to certain types of content can have significant effects.
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