Faculty of Business, School of Psychology, Justice and Behavioural Science, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 7;19(8):e0307597. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307597. eCollection 2024.
Videos glamourising disordered eating practices and body image concerns readily circulate on TikTok. Minimal empirical research has investigated the impact of TikTok content on body image and eating behaviour. The present study aimed to fill this gap in current research by examining the influence of pro-anorexia TikTok content on young women's body image and degree of internalisation of beauty standards, whilst also exploring the impact of daily time spent on TikTok and the development of disordered eating behaviours. An experimental and cross-sectional design was used to explore body image and internalisation of beauty standards in relation to pro-anorexia TikTok content. Time spent on TikTok was examined in relation to the risk of developing orthorexia nervosa. A sample of 273 female-identifying persons aged 18-28 years were exposed to either pro-anorexia or neutral TikTok content. Pre- and post-test measures of body image and internalisation of beauty standards were obtained. Participants were divided into four groups based on average daily time spent on TikTok. Women exposed to pro-anorexia content displayed the greatest decrease in body image satisfaction and an increase in internalisation of societal beauty standards. Women exposed to neutral content also reported a decrease in body image satisfaction. Participants categorised as high and extreme daily TikTok users reported greater average disordered eating behaviour on the EAT-26 than participants with low and moderate use, however this finding was not statistically significant in relation to orthorexic behaviours. This research has implications for the mental health of young female TikTok users, with exposure to pro-anorexia content having immediate consequences for internalisation and body image dissatisfaction, potentially increasing one's risk of developing disordered eating beliefs and behaviours.
在 TikTok 上，容易浏览到美化饮食失调行为和身体意象问题的视频。目前的研究很少调查 TikTok 内容对身体意象和饮食行为的影响。本研究旨在通过检查厌食症支持的 TikTok 内容对年轻女性身体意象和内化美的标准程度的影响，填补当前研究的空白，同时还探讨了在 TikTok 上花费的时间和出现饮食失调行为的风险之间的关系。采用实验和横断面设计来研究与厌食症支持的 TikTok 内容相关的身体意象和内化美的标准程度。还检查了在 TikTok 上花费的时间与出现厌食症的风险之间的关系。共有 273 名年龄在 18 至 28 岁之间的女性参与者参与了研究，她们接触了厌食症支持或中性的 TikTok 内容。在研究之前和之后，参与者都对身体意象和内化美的标准程度进行了评估。根据平均每天在 TikTok 上花费的时间，将参与者分为四组。接触厌食症支持内容的女性在身体意象满意度方面下降最大，对社会美的内化标准增加。接触中性内容的女性也报告说她们的身体意象满意度下降。被归类为高和极端每日 TikTok 用户的参与者在 EAT-26 上报告的平均饮食失调行为比低和中度使用的参与者更多，但这一发现与厌食症行为无关，在统计学上并不显著。这项研究对年轻女性 TikTok 用户的心理健康有影响，接触厌食症支持内容会对内化和身体意象不满产生直接影响，可能会增加一个人出现饮食失调信念和行为的风险。
