TikTok: A Positive Platform

Eating disorders have been infamously popularized throughout the 21st century and there is a continuously growing number of teens and young adults who struggle with body image and eating disorders. It is no secret that the media influences a skewed perception of body image in young adults. Predominantly young and impressionable people look up to something that is almost “fake,” being left extremely dissatisfied with themselves. Because of this vicious cycle, eating disorders often develop.

The hugely popular social media platform TikTok is actively helping to fight the stigma of eating disorders. While TikTok and other social media platforms can sometimes be a harmful environment for its users, overall, TikTok works to promote a lot of positive messages. It is inspiring to all to put the spotlight on positive creators who are helping to make a difference in the world. I researched some of the most popular TikTok creators in order to get their insight on the subject as well as learn their personal stories pertaining to these various issues.

@brittanilancaster and @claraandherself are two of the TikTok influencers I focused on. They have a history of eating disorders and they share their stories with their followers. These two girls post their unfiltered bodies, they share what they eat in a day in case someone needs the inspiration to eat, and they encourage people to be accepting of their bodies. The hashtag #edrecovery (ED for “eating disorder”) has almost 889 million views and the hashtag #bodypositivity has nearly 4 billion views, this just shows how vast the support for recovery and positivity is.

TikTok can also be a toxic place too, though. TikTok can “set people up for negative self-image and disordered eating” (Wides). People can spiral into depression because of how unsatisfied they are with their bodies and themselves. Sometimes, people even turn to suicide, which is extremely saddening. Though this claim is true, I think that the positive outweighs the negative on the app. For the most part, the most popular accounts and videos are on the positive side of the issue which is really good. “Although there are harmful TikTok videos that may negatively affect those in eating disorder recovery, there are also a variety of TikTok accounts that promote recovery and help spread awareness about eating disorders” (Wides).

All in all, videos on TikTok are making a real difference in the world and I think that TikTok can even influence a new way of thinking about things like eating disorders, body positivity, and just acceptance in general. Collectively, we all must make strides to do better to promote realistic body standards and not let social media platforms like TikTok or Instagram be flooded with unrealistic standards that can leave many with an unhealthy and even dangerous lifestyle. It is a huge step in the right direction that my research proved that positivity generally trumps hate. With this, we can be confident that we can make a huge change in the way that we think and TikTok is already working to do this.