Social networks They have become In the main mirror of society, reflecting obsessions and beauty ideals. If less than ten years ago It was celebrated The rise of the “postive body” movement, which fought for the inclusion and acceptance of all kinds of bodies, the current reality It seems to go back until the beginning of the century. What seemed to be a closed stage has revived under a new format that is worrying experts, governments and digital platforms: the phenomenon Skinnytok.
The viral trend. The hashtag #Skinnytok accumulates more than 57,000 videos in Tiktok, in which young girls appear mainly giving advice on how to lose weight quickly, often through extremely restrictive diets either Excessive exercises. In all of them, most women are visibly thin, promoting these behaviors as if they were healthy practices. This type of content has been associated with an increase in eating disorders among the youngest, generating a growing alarm around the harmful effects of these trends, According to Libération.
One more background problem. When you are looking for the hashtag, the first thing that appears is a message that says: “Your weight does not define you”, but then all the videos are observed where you can listen to phrases such as: “If you want to be skinny? You have to do skinny activities” either “Fat trauma”the latter accompanied with photographs of how they were before.
In short, it is another sample of the normalization of eating disorders. Charlyne Buigues, nurse specialized in eating disorders, He explained For The Guardian that this type of clips not only encourages restrictive diets, but also creates a culture that glorifies physical suffering as a synonym for success. Also Dr. Also Chema, specialist in internal medicine, has detailed For Forbes that the advice of Skinnytok They can teach young people to interpret hunger as a sign of success, which is actually a natural biological signal. Eating disorders, such as anorexia, are having an alarming prevalence among adolescents, and this type of content exacerbates an existing problem.
The target audience. The main problem is that the Tiktok base is teenagers. According to data from the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians1 in 20 young people in Spain may suffer a problem of eating behavior. In addition, a study has demonstrated that visualizing this type of videos can cause damage to self -perception, only with eight minutes of Thininspiration It is enough to increase body dissatisfaction in young women. This adds to what He explained For Forbes, the mental health expert Stephen Buchwald: “Constant bombardment with unattainable beauty standards can create a vicious circle of self -criticism and low self -esteem, seriously affecting mental health, especially in adolescents.”
The responsibility of the platforms. Before the growth of #SkinnytokEuropean governments and institutions have begun to take strict measures. According to politicianthe Arcomen France regulator, together with the European authorities, is investigating the phenomenon to determine if Tiktok is complying with current regulations for protection for minors, especially the EU Digital Services Lawthat forces platforms to mitigate the risks of harmful content. As mentioned, the social network has added a warning when looking for the label. However, some experts They have assured That these measures are not enough, since the algorithms of the platform continue to prioritize the most viral contents, without considering the consequences of spreading dangerous messages on body image.
The 2000s revival. It is not just a phenomenon of social networks. The resurgence of the beauty canons of the 2000s has returned to the catwalks with the figure in the purest Kate Moss style: Ultradelgada. From The return of the Victoria’s Secret parade last year, with Adriana Lima’s transformationto the change of celebrities like Christina Aguilera, who recognized Using Ozempic to lose weight, reappear the aesthetic codes that dominated two decades ago, where extreme thinness is associated with success and glamor. It is not just about being thin, but about adjusting to a set of trends that prevails the image on health.
The dangerous cult of extreme thinness. One of the central concerns around the Skinnytok phenomenon is the perpetuation of the Gordophobia in society. Social platforms, like the fashion and advertising industry, continue to promote thinness as the only ideal of beauty. This biased vision of aesthetics leads many people to be ashamed of their bodies for not adjusting to an unreal standard. Before this trend there was a filter known as “Chubby Filter”which ends up being deleted from the platform after numerous complaints of users who denounced humiliation. Now, with #skinnyTok, the effect is inverse: extreme thinness stands out as a personal improvement goal showing the long road that must be traveled again.
Image | Tiktok
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