This lesson explores TikTok’s decision to ban the #SkinnyTok hashtag after concerns about content promoting extreme weight loss and unrealistic body images. Learners will examine how harmful health messages persist on social media, why they’re difficult to regulate, and how creators and researchers are responding. The material includes a transcript, vocabulary support, and discussion questions for learners interested in digital culture, public health, and media literacy.
| TikTok bans #SkinnyTok. But content promoting unhealthy eating persists |
Warm-up question: Have you ever seen or followed health or fitness advice on social media? How did it make you feel?
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LEILA FADEL, HOST:
TikTok banned search results under the hashtag #SkinnyTok after European regulators warned that the videos that came up under the search promoted unrealistic body images and extreme weight loss. But NPR’s Katia Riddle reports eliminating harmful content isn’t easy.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: The hashtag may be gone, but social media still has no shortage of people spreading information on how to eat fewer calories and get very, very thin. This creator goes by @theskinnymillionaire. Her video recommends, if you want to lose weight, hide how little you’re eating.
THESKINNYMILLIONAIRE: That’s what skinny people do. They always look like they’re eating more than what they really are. They’ve unlocked the code, and I guess, so have I.
RIDDLE: To be clear, this is not a healthy way to lose weight. Research shows that engaging with unhealthy social media content is associated with an increased risk for disordered eating. Brooke Erin Duffy studies social media and culture at Cornell University. She says social media platforms are capable of restricting content. Some of it is more extreme and easier to identify.
BROOKE ERIN DUFFY: And then you have many kinds of content which are in the gray zones, and so their regulation is much more difficult.
RIDDLE: It can be hard to disentangle nutrition and wellness, for example, from tips on unhealthy weight loss.
DUFFY: As soon as there is an attempt for platforms to regulate or thwart a hashtag, anyone using the platform is going to develop a workaround.
RIDDLE: Some concerned creators are working on counterprogramming, like this woman, Kate Glavan.
KATE GLAVAN: But a lot of creators that are explicitly promoting anorexia to their audience, which I’m guessing is young women, it pisses me the [expletive] off. It’s dangerous. It’s misinformed as well, and that’s what I want to talk about.
RIDDLE: Glavan has almost 150,000 followers on TikTok.
GLAVAN: Anorexia has the biggest mortality rate of any sort of mental disorder. It is a serious thing, OK? So take it seriously, go eat a cookie and block these creators, OK? Love you guys.
RIDDLE: But the body positivity movement just doesn’t have the potency that hashtags like #SkinnyTok do. Amanda Raffoul researches public health and social media at the University of Toronto.
AMANDA RAFFOUL: Negative images or images that are unrealistic or show really thin people or really muscular people tend to have a more lasting impact than body positive content does.
RIDDLE: Raffoul says these negative messages and unrealistic beauty standards are reinforced throughout society. That makes them stronger. And she says social media platforms boost this kind of content.
RAFFOUL: The way that they structure content and the way that they code algorithms to amplify certain types of messaging and even target certain types of messaging to specific users puts that information in the hands of more vulnerable people.
RIDDLE: In response to an inquiry for this story, TikTok sent a statement stressing that the company does take safety measures, restricting content to underaged users. The company also stressed that it makes sure content related to weight loss and extreme exercise is not viewed too often. But Amanda Raffoul points out there’s a lot of money being made on this content.
RAFFOUL: Every minute that we spend on these platforms is being monetized.
RIDDLE: She says it will take lawmakers forcing change with legislation to really protect people from dangerous content. Until that happens, the best strategy to combat it, she says, is not to look at it at all.
Katia Riddle, NPR News.
Vocabulary and Phrases:
- Unrealistic: not sensible or likely to happen; not based on reality.
- Unlocked the code: figured out a secret method or trick to achieving something, often implying hidden knowledge.
- Disordered eating: unhealthy eating behaviors that may include extreme dieting, skipping meals, or bingeing.
- Gray zone: an area that is not clearly right or wrong; hard to judge or define.
- Thwart: to prevent someone from doing something or to stop something from happening.
- Counterprogramming: creating or promoting content that is meant to oppose or balance harmful or popular content.
- Anorexia: a serious eating disorder where people try to lose weight by not eating enough food.
- Mortality rate: the number of deaths in a specific group over a certain period of time.
- Body positivity: a movement that promotes acceptance of all body types and encourages self-love and confidence.
- Potency: the strength or power of something to produce an effect.
- Reinforced: made stronger or more supported, especially through repetition or backing from others.
- Monetized: turned into something that makes money, often through ads or viewer engagement.
Comprehension Questions:
- Why did TikTok ban search results for the hashtag #SkinnyTok?
- What kind of unhealthy advice is still spreading on social media, according to the report?
- What does Brooke Erin Duffy say makes some harmful content hard to regulate?
- How are some creators using counterprogramming to respond to harmful content?
- What does Amanda Raffoul say about the impact of unrealistic images versus body positivity content?
Discussion Questions:
- Why do you think content promoting unrealistic beauty standards is more popular or lasting than body-positive messages?
- What responsibility should social media companies have in regulating harmful content?
- How can young people protect themselves from disordered eating messages online?
- Do you think government regulation would help solve this problem? Why or why not?
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