Social media influences many aspects of everyone’s daily lives, including our diets and relationship with food, which can be extremely dangerous when unrealistic body standards and restrictive diets are promoted.
People wake up in the morning and the first thing they do is check their social media. Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat and so many others consume so much time of an individual’s day, which can be toxic for them.
CNN has stated that teen screen-time has doubled since the start of the pandemic. Knowing this information, it is safe to say that social media is consuming a majority of people’s time.
The Dove self esteem project stated, “In today’s social media world young people are living their lives in full view of an online audience. For those from a different generation, the idea of ‘checking in’ or sharing a selfie to let people know where you are and what you’re up to might seem bizarre. For young people today, getting ‘likes’ on photos can bring a sense of accomplishment and acceptance.”
Social media makes body goals impossible to achieve. With hundreds of editing apps and impossible beauty standards to follow, many people are heavily affected. Every app has filters that airbrush your flaws away and add makeup or a different eye color, which makes people feel mundane in their own skin.
LBCC social media professor Nick Carbonaro said, “People try to look like certain people. Angles really make a difference and what people don’t see is the lighting, spray tans …”
“Men are impacted a lot too, they are not talked about a lot. They try to stay fit, intermittent fasting and other sad diets trying to maintain that certain physique,” Carbonaro stated.
Diet culture has become a huge trend through most social media outlets, with a constant outpour of videos discussing the “newest diet you have to try.” These include keto, intermittent fasting, paleo and so many more.
According to UChicago Medicine, “The keto diet could cause low blood pressure, kidney stones, constipation, nutrient deficiencies and an increased risk of heart disease.”
Influencers constantly share their best healthy recipes and their individual tips and tricks on how to be as “healthy” as possible.
Diet culture has become toxic. Influencers share these crazy diets with their followers and then follow it up with a photo of them saying how the diet changed their lives. Sometimes these influencers do not even follow these diets themselves and the photos they share that they swear are natural, are heavily edited.
The Daily Mail shared that Khloe Kardashian is continuing to promote the Flat Tummy shakes even after receiving backlash from followers online. She claims they really work, when she has also shared that she uses a personal trainer and a nutritionist.
Carbonaro went on to talk about how “everyone is responsible for what they view” but that even though being informed is important, the negative impacts of social media currently outweigh the positive.
Not only is diet culture extremely isolating and causing many people’s insecurities, but it is also very dangerous. Social media users should work on monitoring who they are following online in order to limit their exposure to misinformation.