We, as a society need to end self-negativity and focus on self-love. Embrace our insecurities because they are what makes us who we are. Today’s youth are constantly staring at small screens, feeling less and less confident about who they are, when in reality what they are comparing themselves to isn’t reality. On social media, it is so easy to portray yourself differently or ‘catfish’ as you may know it, but it seems easier for people to forget all of this and constantly put themselves down. Would you want your son or daughter growing up feeling bad about themselves every time they eat a biscuit? Or because they don’t obsessively work out every waking minute of the day? I assume not, because it isn’t normality and we need to stop pretending it is. Tiktok has over eight hundred million users globally and forty one percent of these are aged between sixteen and twenty four. Teenage years is a period of time that shapes your future and the person you will become for the rest of your life. Nasty comments aren’t okay, you may think to yourself that its ‘just one comment’ but for that person that could be the fiftieth time they have heard it and who knows the consequences that could come from these actions. Do not do it, no matter how little impact you think it may have you never know what is going on in peoples lives. Although they are strangers, it doesn’t make it any less okay.
On tiktok, users spend their time scrolling through the ‘for you page’ where you can watch videos created by small users or bigger users that are famous. The ‘for you page’ focuses on videos mainly on body image, however there is also lip syncing, dancing, tutorials and more. However, the comment section is what can make a video so harmful, for instance if a girl or boy is dancing around in swimwear and their body doesn’t reach the standards of a certain body type that is known for being most attractive, they leave the app feeling insecure for the rest of their day. Not only teenagers, but also adults strive to obtain that perfect figure, which more often than not is impossible due to genetics and the way we are made. Others are so quick to tear the user down if they do not look perfect in society’s eyes, however people also leave users feeling guilty if they do fit society’s beauty standards with comments like ‘And I have the audacity to breathe’ and ‘I don’t want to eat again’ evidently leaves them feeling unhappy with themselves and a low self-esteem. Some of these comments and expectations are so intense that it leaves people with insecurities that they never even had before they started using tiktok. Not only do people put others down for the way they look, they also comment about how refreshing it is to see a more realistic body type and although you may think this is a compliment, it is a backhanded compliment to tell someone their body is more realistic than others, perhaps suggesting that it’s not as good as stereotypical beauty standards. These comments appear so often, that it is near impossible to avoid them which is hurtful to others and could leave people with a damaged mental health which could eventually lead to eating disorders.
Although many eating disorders develop in teenage years, some have developed earlier or later on in life. If you are outside the stereotypical age bracket, people are less likely to be correctly diagnosed due to a lack of understanding and awareness of eating disorders in these age groups. People of all different ages are using tiktok and therefore any of these people could now be suffering and one harmful comment from you could have contributed to it. Think before you type because you never know the affects it may have on people. If you have nothing positive to say, keep on scrolling because what is the fun of putting people down? Research shows devastating statistics that hospital admissions for eating disorders have risen by more than a third and increased by 37% across all age groups, over the last two years. I’m sure you can imagine tiktok has contributed to this, but we cannot solely blame an app, we are to blame, our community, because it is us who creates these videos and who types harmful comments. We need to put an end to this because it is not okay, and it is affecting not only our generation but older generations and younger generations.
Another type of video that often appears on my ‘for you page’ and I’m sure many of yours too, are videos referring to weight loss, workouts and dieting. Many of these videos include ‘What I eat in a day’ where the user simply shows them eating about one grape and some leaves for dinner, which is beyond unrealistic and just unhealthy. This then leaves others feeling guilty who eat a substantial three meals a day with snacks to maintain a balanced and healthy diet; when in fact why should they feel guilty? They are doing what’s normal, right? Many of these accounts promote unhealthy weight loss methods such as starving yourself or taking laxatives. Although there are some accounts that positively encourage, and support people trying to eat healthily and build up each other’s confidence we need to see more of this. Tiktok’s purpose was never intended to be this toxic, however it is teenagers it will affect the most. Even though, so many people are tearing others down despite this so many others are working hard to build others confidence. I, myself have seen an increase in videos promoting healthy eating, confidence and praising others and I’m sure you have too. No matter if you are a small creator or a popular creator we need to continue to hold ourselves accountable and only post about weight and body image in a respectable manner, and accepting that no matter your body image you are you and you should be proud of who you are.
I hope you can join me in promoting confidence and positivity on tiktok to ensure the platform is able to grow positively.
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