First published: 10/08/2024
Experts express concern as harmful videos glorifying eating disorders are rarely removed from the platform, even when flagged.
A recent study has revealed that watching less than ten minutes of TikTok videos can significantly damage a woman's body image, prompting renewed calls for stricter regulation of harmful content on social media platforms.
The study, conducted by researchers from Charles Sturt University and reported by The Guardian Australia, surveyed 273 women aged 18 to 28 on their perceptions of body image and beauty standards. The participants were then divided into two groups, each exposed to eight-minute compilations of TikTok videos. One group viewed content glorifying eating disorders, often referred to as "pro-anorexia" content, including "fitspiration" videos that promote weight loss and extreme dieting. The other group watched a mix of nature, cooking, and comedy videos.
The results were alarming. Both groups reported a decrease in body image satisfaction, but those exposed to pro-anorexia content experienced a significantly greater decline. Additionally, they showed an increased internalisation of unrealistic beauty standards. The study's findings, published in the journal PLOS ONE, have raised concerns that young women exposed to such harmful content could be at a heightened risk of developing disordered eating habits.
Dr. Rachel Hogg, a senior lecturer in psychology and co-author of the study, emphasised the dangers posed by even brief exposures to damaging content. “You don’t have to consume much content for it to have a negative impact,” she told The Guardian Australia. “We know that most people are spending a lot longer on TikTok than participants did in our study.”
Despite TikTok's claims that the app is inclusive and body-positive, experts argue that the platform's guidelines are inadequate in preventing the spread of harmful content. A TikTok spokesperson stated that the app does not allow content depicting or normalising eating disorders and that users could reset their TikTok feed or access appropriate advice if they searched for such content.
However, Melissa Wilton, head of communications at the Butterfly Foundation, a charity supporting those with eating disorders, criticised TikTok for failing to remove harmful content even after it was flagged. “There is harmful content on TikTok’s platform, and I think it’s disingenuous of them to say otherwise,” Wilton told The Guardian Australia. “The guidelines are being enforced. The problem, I would say, lies with what the guidelines cover.”
The study has reignited concerns about the broader impact of social media on young people. High school student Katya Jaski, who developed an eating disorder at age 13, shared her experience of how social media exacerbated her condition. “When you come across a video of a slim girl showing an unrealistic ‘what I eat in a day’ video, for example, and you watch that, the content will then appear more frequently on your feed,” Jaski explained. “At my lowest … pretty much every video on my feed would be a very sick, malnourished young girl in hospital. It makes it seem like everybody is so much thinner than you.”
Jaski, now 17, has joined the Butterfly Foundation and other advocates in calling for stricter regulation of social media platforms to address the potential harm of pro-anorexia and weight loss-focused content.
In 2023, TikTok faced criticism for not acting quickly enough to strengthen its content policies after a study revealed that its recommendation algorithm pushed self-harm and eating disorder content to teenagers within minutes of them expressing interest in such topics. “TikTok and other platforms need to be able to identify what might be problematic,” Wilton said. “If it’s generally going to cause harm, then it needs to come down.”
Governments across Australia are now exploring measures to protect young people from harmful content, including the potential banning of social media for certain age groups to mitigate the negative effects of excessive online time .
コメント