Dismantling toxic social media culture
Scrolling through Tik Tok, instagram, Pinterest, and even Tumblr, videos and images of thin legs, sunken in stomachs, and hollowed out cheeks are the aesthetic goals that appear swipe after swipe. Comments pop up, “I’m skipping lunch today,” “What’s your workout routine,” “I’m giving up.” One bold user says they have had enough and opposes the troops. This rarity causes hope and inspiration for some, but for others they go by and idolize the frail figures on the screen.
Since the age of social media and comparison through it, the body image of young girls and boys has been tarnished by unrealistic standards. The National Library of Medicine published that “44% of adolescent girls believed they were overweight and 60% were actively trying to lose weight even though the majority of these young girls were within normal weight ranges.” There is a slew of what is called “Thinspo,” or “Thinspiration,” defined by Oxford Languages as a term used in reference to something or someone that serves as motivation for a person seeking to maintain a very low body weight. Having these “goals” pushed as the ideal, and what you should be aiming for, has drastically changed how young adults look at themselves, and has spiked the youth risk for developing an eating disorder or body dysmorphia.
Focusing on Tik Tok, which has become a primary platform for the majority of social media users, there is a startling amount of people with accounts specifically posting aesthetic “what I eat in a day” videos that show the bare minimum in a way that seems almost pretty. Other content features tips on how to restrict or rapidly lose weight. A lot of these trends go back to the 90s when “heroin chic” was the trend for models and people in the face of the camera. Having an eating disorder is not an aesthetic, and there is nothing beautiful, or glamorous about living the lifestyle of someone with a terrible disease that many people fight for life.
The bad side of social media can a lot of the time overshadow the people who are working every day to make it a more safe and inspiring place to be. Grace and Ava Sautter are sisters who have been running an instagram page, @thesauttersisters, since 2020 that focuses on health and wellness, and as time progressed, began to focus on diet culture and how it affects many young people in today's society. The sisters share their experiences and go through their day to day in a way that promotes a healthy and sustainable way to enjoy life, “There are definitely negative and unhealthy habits being promoted on social media, which inspired us to do the opposite. Our hope is to share with other women that a healthy relationship with your body and food is not impossible and can be achieved through hard work and pushing back on diet culture.” This outlook and positivity is something that can and does help so many people in the endless scroll.
The positive content of Grace and Ava exemplify how life can be a balance of wellness, health, and most importantly fun. A lot of the things we see are out of control of the viewer but getting out of that is a possibility, “You are in charge of everything you take in on social media. Be outspoken about things that are hurtful, whether they are comments made by family members or ads on your explore page.” This is a practice of self care that will only fight against the “norm” that is the toxic noise we hear and see.
Especially for women, there is so much pressure to be this perfect being that fits into the ideal of every category from body to lifestyle, “I think that as women, our relationship with our body and food will always be evolving and therefore never be “perfect”. This goal to continue to strive towards bettering it and creating truly healthy habits is the best way to ensure that we stay on top of fighting against dieting and the toxicity that comes with it.” These messages being put out into the world create toxic environments but through self check ins and selfc love and care, people can turn it around for themselves.
Understanding how diet culture and toxic social media accounts can truly harm and hurt such a mass of people is a scary and unfortunate part of the times so many people are growing up with and growing accustomed to. Fill up your life and explore pages with positive reinforcements that living a normal and happy life does not mean lacking fuel to achieve the ideal that is really not ideal for so many. Unlearning these thoughts and dismantling the culture is what everyone can do for themselves.
