CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses body image issues.
Unsurprisingly, social media does an immense amount of damage to women’s perception of body image. And in unfortunate news, a new study has found that it takes less than 10 minutes using TikTok for the effects to kick in.
The grim findings come from a survey conducted by Charles Sturt University, where 273 female-identifying individuals aged between 18-28 were split into two sample groups. Each group was assigned to two different eight-minute TikTok compilations.
One group was subjected to the “experimental” compilations, which featured “pro-ana” TikTok content, and the second group was the control group, who were shown standard TikTok feed.
The “experimental” group’s pro-ana content included weight loss tips, fitspiration videos, disordered eating, and “more implicit body image ideals.”
The control sample group was given a mixture of nature, comedy, cooking, and animal content.
Following the seven to eight-minute compilation, researchers found that both sample groups suffered some kind of decrease in body image satisfaction. However, the “experimental” group’s dissatisfaction was (unsurprisingly) more significant than the control group.
Despite this, the authors of the study said it was an “unexpected finding” to discover that the control group had experienced some kind of drop in dissatisfaction.
“Our study showed that less than 10 minutes of exposure to implicit and explicit pro-anorexia TikTok content had immediate negative consequences for body image states and internalisation of appearance ideals, suggesting psychological harm can occur for young female TikTok users even when explicit pro-anorexia content is not sought out and when TikTok use is of a short duration,” the authors of the study stated.
Although researchers have acknowledged that TikTok has attempted to negate this issue, such as blocking searchers for #anorexia — which if you do, it redirects you to a research page and the number to Butterfly Foundation — they say that “further regulation is required.”
“TikTok and other platforms need to be able to identify what might be problematic,” said Butterfly Foundation’s head of communications, Melissa Wilton.
“If it’s generally going to cause harm, then it needs to come down.”
Per The Guardian Australia, the study’s co-author Dr Rachel C. Hogg is concerned that TikTok users are definitely spending wayyyyyy more than eight minutes on the app.
“You don’t have to consume much content for it to have a negative impact,” Hogg told the publication.
Hogg joins the numerous other experts who are calling for TikTok to increase its regulation of harmful content, with the study giving a grave warning if changes are not made.
“Unless effective controls are implemented within the platform to prevent the circulation of pro-ana content, female-identifying TikTok users may continue to experience immediate detrimental consequences for body image satisfaction, thin-ideal internalisation, and may experience an increased risk of developing disordered eating behaviours,” the study read.
A spokesperson for TikTok said the platform does not allow content normalising eating disorders.
The Australian government is currently debating the impact of banning social media for people under the age of 16, in an effort to prevent them from being exposed to harmful content.
- If you need support, give Butterfly Foundation a call on 1800 33 4673 or chat online.
- If you are in distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
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