Eating Disorders and Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Sensitive Content
Written by CCTC Staff Writer
Eating disorders and social media are more interconnected than ever. Instagram and TikTok, in particular, are significant contributors to eating disorders, for obvious and lesser known reasons.
The platforms are attempting to moderate content and offer resources for those who seem to need it, based on certain flagged content. But is it doing enough to block out triggering content, or enough to keep those who use the platform to remain stuck in their eating disorders (which then, of course, triggers others)?
Read on for:
What kind of triggering content is out there (and why)
How platforms like Instagram and TikTok are handling triggering content
How eating disorder sufferers use social media platforms to sustain their disordered behaviors
How to protect yourself from triggering social media content
But first, let’s talk numbers.
Social Media Usage Statistics
Instagram statistics as of 2021:
There are 1.074 billion Instagram users worldwide.
71% of monthly Instagram users are under the age of 35.
Instagram users spend an average of 53 minutes on the platform per day.
There are 689 million TikTok users worldwide (making it the 7th largest platform in terms of users, despite being one of the newest social media apps out there.)
62% of U.S. TikTok users are between the ages 0f 10 and 29.
TikTok users spend an average of 52 minutes on the platform per day.
Eating Disorder Statistics
The average age of onset of anorexia nervosa is 16-17 years old, 18 years old for bulimia nervosa, and 25 for binge eating disorder.
The prevalence of eating disorders is rising for children ages 12 and under.
Eating disorder prevalence is rising in the 18-24 age group (which comprises the majority of eating disorder sufferers.)
It’s important to note that the age of onset for eating disorders closely aligns with the majority of social media users.
Related: Here is how to talk to your child about eating disorders.
Suggested Posts Social Media Structure: Why this Matters When it Comes to Eating Disorder Content
Before getting into the types of troubling content itself, it’s also important to understand how exactly platforms like Instagram and TikTok are set up. TikTok is a unique app in that your social media feed isn’t full of people you specifically choose to follow.
Rather, your feed is your “For You” page, an endless stream of videos uniquely tailored to your interests (roughly) from any users who create content in that area — even people you don’t know. Curated content is based on what you have already seen — so if you happen to watch one video about eating disorders, you can be surprised with more triggering content.
Eventually, it becomes a feedback loop, where the more you watch harmful content, the more often this kind of content shows up in your feed.
Instagram has added a “Suggested Posts” feature on their platform, which operates in the same way. Just like that, your feed is filled with the kinds of content we discuss below.
Eating Disorders and Social Media: The Triggering Content Problem
One of the greatest parts of social media is that you can pretty much post whatever you want.
There are certain things social media platforms will flag as inappropriate, but social media content moderation algorithms are not able to recognize all the potentially harmful content out there.
These are just a few types of triggering content out there for anyone to see:
“What I Eat in a Day”
“What I Eat in a Day” (WIEIAD) posts and videos are becoming increasingly popular. The trend is basically content showing what users eat in a day.
Videos and posts like these can be triggering in a number of ways:
Many video descriptions are “what I eat in a day to lose weight.”
Often, calorie and/or macronutrient counts are displayed.
Very often, users’ daily intake is not nearly enough to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
These videos may specifically endorse eating disorder behaviors, such as cutting food up into tiny pieces or substituting caffeine for a meal.
Videos also present “low calorie finds” that eating disorder sufferers eat instead of the nutrient-rich food we all need.
Most creators are not intentionally trying to promote harmful behaviors. But many individuals at risk for an eating disorder, or who already have one, take what other people eat as a guide for what they “should” eat.
“Health” and Weight Loss Guides (From Both Amateurs and “Professionals”)
Diet culture is everywhere on social media. Whether it’s an anecdote about weight loss from a relative, an influencer trying to sell you on a diet plan, or “health” companies trying to sell you “detox supplements,” there’s no escaping it.
Related: Read more about the “detox” phenomenon, why it exists, and why it’s dangerous for everyone.
Most advice or guidance you find online is misinformed and promotes eating disorder behaviors in the name of “health,” usually for a profit.
For example, you have probably seen content about:
Intermittent fasting
Detox plans and supplements
Juice cleanses
Calorie and macronutrient trackers, apps, or guides
“What you should and shouldn’t eat”
Fitness regimes
Bulking up or cutting
Fat shaming and the thin ideal
Which types of hunger cues are “valid” and which are not
This kind of content is problematic for everyone — but it’s especially damaging for adolescents, who don’t know exactly how to nourish themselves, or how to tell fact from fiction. They are also in a crucial period of growth, and need a lot of nutrition for brain and body development.
Related: This is why you have to honor all types of hunger, and how intuitive eating can help.
#TransformationTuesday Posts
These kinds of posts (which do not only occur on Tuesdays, but this is one of the most popular hashtags) show all kinds of transformations.
Some of them are really positive, like transitioning from high school to college or from an insecure person to someone who’s content with themselves as they are. But the majority of them have to do with fitness and weight loss.
This, of course, causes viewers to:
Compare their bodies with the “transformed” bodies in posts.
Compare their weight with the weight of others (despite each body having a unique healthy weight.)
Compare their current self with their past selves.
The last one is very interesting.
Since social media accounts are, in a way, visual time capsules, we can easily scroll back through our own posts and judge ourselves. Most of the time, that judgment is a negative one.
Outfit of the Day Posts, Otherwise Known as Body Checking and Comparison
Outfit of the Day (OOTD) posts are photos or short videos that show off what a user is wearing that day. Many people also post “clothing hauls,” where they try on new clothing they just bought.
Some of these videos are just for fun, or (more often) to promote a label, but for others, they are a way to do body checks every day. They capture how their body looks and changes every single day. They can scrutinize them for weight loss or gain, muscle development, or other “imperfections.”
Some viewers look at OOTD posts by content creators they think are “thin” or “perfect” as motivation to continue disordered eating and excessive exercise behaviors.
Related: This is how to stop body checking behaviors.
Pro-ED Memes, Tips, and Communities
Many “mainstream” posts about dieting and body comparison are much more subtle than the ones you’ll find on the pro-eating disorder side of social media.
Pro-ED content is content that explicitly promotes eating disorder behaviors, and it comes in a lot of forms, including:
Memes about eating disorders
Stories about eating disorder experiences (often told as lighthearted anecdotes or glorifying eating disorders)
Guides for eating disorder behaviors
Eating disorder group chats, where users encourage disordered behaviors
“How-to” guides on using various behaviors
Obsessively recording weight loss and body checks to “track progress”
(Perhaps Most Surprisingly) ED Recovery Accounts
While pro-ED content is obviously meant to trigger both creators and viewers, ED recovery accounts should have the opposite effect, right?
That’s not universally true.
Some eating disorder recovery accounts on social media are really helpful. Positive content creators offer everything from tips on how to handle bad body image days, useful statistics and resources, and a space for marginalized communities to make themselves heard.
But other recovery accounts explicitly discuss their weight loss, health status, number of hospitalizations, and show pictures of themselves at their “low weights,” in the hospital, with feeding tubes, etc.
None of these things are necessary for you to have a valid eating disorder.
But many sufferers feel invalidated about their eating disorder. They believe they need to look like the people in these recovery accounts — many of whom are not in full, active recovery and should probably not be the “face of recovery” — to have a “real” eating disorder.
Some individuals in their “recovery body” may be smaller than sufferers who, even at their lowest weight, were not that size. They may not feel worthy of recovery, or like they’re even sick to begin with.
So, without intending to, recovery account owners are triggering other eating disorder sufferers.
Related: Think you’re not “sick enough” to have an eating disorder? Read this.
Finsta, Alt-TikTok, Private Stories: Private Documentation of Eating Disorder “Progress”
Many young social media users create fake social media profiles, often to hide what they’re searching from their parents. But people often create “finstas” (fake Instagrams) and “alt-TikToks” (alternative TikTok profiles) to document their weight loss, body changes, daily intake, exercise, etc.
Profile bios often include “highest weight” or “starting weight” (HW or SW), “lowest weight” (LW), and “goal weights” (GW). Some users also add BMI and other triggering information.
Some users prefer to keep these profiles completely private and only for themselves. Others use their dedicated eating disorder documentation profile to enter the pro-eating disorder online world, learning more disordered habits from other users, viewing “thinspiration” on others’ profiles, and more.
Compiling numbers, food intake, and photographs privately, in one place, creates a sense of isolation from a sufferer’s support system, and a sense of community with fellow sufferers.
Some users even go so far as to discourage their followers from telling anyone about their eating disorder or seeking treatment. Malicious content creators do this just to keep them locked into the community, which keeps them locked into their eating disorder.
Social Media Feature Updates: “Sensitive Content”, Link to Resources, Content Moderation and their Effectiveness
Eating disorder content has been out there for years. It started with LiveJournal, then moved to Tumblr, and Twitter, and now to Instagram and TikTok.
To their credit, more modern social media platforms are trying their best to locate and remove triggering content.
What have these platforms come up with?
Sensitive Content Filter
Many platforms have instituted a sensitive content filter, which places a warning over posts that do not necessarily violate the platform’s community guidelines, but have been flagged as potentially triggering.
However, this feature is easy to bypass — all you have to do is click “show photo” (or video) and you can access it.
Resources Feature
Social media platforms have created pop ups that offer resources for individuals who search for potentially triggering content such as #eatingdisorders.
You can choose to be redirected from the platform to mental health resources. But you still have the option to see the results of your search.
Blocked Content and Account Bans
Many content moderation algorithms now recognize banned search terms such as #proana.
However, there are many ways in which pro-eating disorder posts evade content filters. Often, this is as simple as intentionally misspelling a search term. Users can, of course, report triggering profiles. Content moderators then go through the processing of banning accounts.
However, most banned users just start new accounts.
What can you do about triggering eating disorder related social media content?
It’s hard to stop obsessing over social media content, but there are a few ways to reduce the amount of time you spend online:
Use app-blocking features like Digital Wellbeing to limit screen time.
Block triggering content creators, even if their accounts are recovery-focused.
Follow the National Eating Disorder Association, eating disorder treatment centers, eating disorder therapists, and recovery accounts that truly focus on helping others recover and not on numbers.
Speak with a nutritionist, registered dietician, or doctor knowledgeable about eating disorders about your unique dietary needs.
Do your own independent research about nutrition before following any self-proclaimed experts.
Delete any triggering apps or social media accounts, or get someone else to do it if you are unable to do it yourself.
Report pro-ED content. It’s best for everyone, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
Tell someone if you’re struggling with food or worried about relapse.
Social media is a way to connect with important resources and see what full recovery could mean for you.
But it can also be a dangerous place full of triggering content.
Celebrate the content that truly motivates your recovery, and block out the rest as much as possible. And if it’s too hard, you might have to take a break from social media altogether.
If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, take the first step today and talk to someone about recovery or simply learn more about the holistic eating disorder recovery programs we offer.