The internet is the modern-day wild, wild west. Within just a few minutes of scrolling on TikTok, you’ll come across several examples of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Among those, you may even stumble upon #SkinnyTok. This hashtag has over half a million posts associated with it, though it reflects an even larger subset of content that glorifies thinness and vilifies weight gain. #SkinnyTok creators promote disordered eating behaviors disguised as “health advice.” With more awareness and intentionality, social media users can be better prepared to identify and avoid this harmful content. 

What Is #SkinnyTok?

#SkinnyTok is a side of social media that idolizes extreme thinness. Posts with this hashtag include workout routines, “what I eat in a day” videos, low-calorie recipes, and transformation timelines of someone’s weight-loss journey. At first glance, many of these videos may seem relatively harmless, and some would maybe even say “helpful, healthy lifestyle advice”. 

But behind the recipes and workouts is another message: your worth is tied to your weight, and thin is best. Whether delivered through subtle hashtags or an overt rant, this sentiment is the antithesis of what organizations, like us here at The Alliance, are working toward. 

A Harmful Narrative

For example, this content often includes:

• Pressure to over-exercise or restrict intake.
• Shame around eating certain foods or eating “too much.”
• Messaging that implies your value increases the smaller you become.
• Glorification of disordered behaviors like fasting, skipping meals, or extreme restriction.
• Phrases like “everything gets better when you’re skinny.”

Creators may claim this content is about “accountability” or “health,” but the truth is that many of these posts perpetuate diet culture. What’s more, they support the untrue narrative that eating disorders are a choice. Research has shown that eating disorders are serious mental health conditions that develop due to a variety of factors, including genes and the environment. Online content like #SkinnyTok is one of the environmental pressures that can increase the risk of someone developing an eating disorder or relapsing if they are in recovery. 

Pro-Ana Culture in a New Wrapper

The emergence of #SkinnyTok may feel like whiplash. In many ways, this content is a resurgence of the pro-ana (pro-anorexia) sites that began circulating the web in the early 2000s.

These spaces promoted eating disorders as a form of self-control and self-discipline, labeling these behaviors as a lifestyle, not the serious mental illnesses that they actually are. These sites have a mix of content: “thinspiration” photos, tips for hiding weight loss, and dangerous advice on fasting, purging, or over-exercising. 

However, alongside this harmful content, these sites occasionally included information on ED recovery, which highlights a paradox found throughout this subculture. Both on pro-ana sites and #SkinnyTok accounts, the creators are likely struggling with eating disorders themselves. With these struggles comes both a desire to recover and a fear of what recovery means.

Understanding Why People Engage with #SkinnyTok

Before jumping into blanket criticisms of these online spaces, it’s worth taking a step back to understand the humanity behind them.

People turn to the internet for connection, community, and validation when they’re feeling isolated, misunderstood, or afraid. For someone struggling with an eating disorder, these posts might feel like solidarity.

And, to be frank, recovery is complicated. Many people living with EDs have mixed feelings about their illness and about getting better. Recovering from an ED isn’t just about changing eating habits, it requires folks to reframe their relationship to control, their body image, and their self-worth. #SkinnyTok might feel like a place where complicated emotions are acknowledged, a place where people can vent, share their experiences, or simply feel seen.

But that doesn’t mean it’s safe.

A Slippery Slope

There’s a difference between validation and reinforcement, but in online spaces like #SkinnyTok, that line gets blurred. Fitness communities can morph into body-shaming echo chambers. “Clean eating” accounts can trigger obsessive food rules. And a single “low-calorie snack” video can lead you down a rabbit hole of increasingly dangerous content. 

We can critique social media, in general, here too. Apps like TikTok want your attention. Their algorithms cleverly analyze what you watch and interact with, then start to pile on. Because of the lightning-fast nature of these videos, this devolution can happen quickly. One minute of meal planning videos can turn into “thinspiration” or body shaming content in the next. 

Why It’s So Dangerous

Eating disorders aren’t trends, and they aren’t a choice. They’re serious mental illnesses that can be life-threatening. In fact, Anorexia Nervosa has one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric disorder. These disorders can cause a host of chronic health issues that affect one’s mental and physical well-being. We need to continue treating eating disorders with the same sincerity and gravitas with which we approach other health issues.

However, because the prevalence of EDs is impacted by environmental, social, and situational factors, access to online content like #SkinnyTok is a serious risk factor. The CDC documented that hospitalizations for eating disorders in teen girls doubled during the pandemic. This doesn’t appear to be coincidental. During the same time, young people spent significantly more time online, where pro-ana and #SkinnyTok content is only a few clicks away. In fact, a 2022 report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate found that TikTok pushed videos related to disordered eating to 13-year-olds within three minutes of joining the platform. 

Despite efforts that social media platforms have made to curb the prevalence of this type of content by flagging certain words or phrases, users and creators find ways around. This is often at the expense of the most vulnerable. A 2024 study revealed that TikTok’s algorithm delivered 4,343% more toxic ED content to users with known histories of disordered eating. 

What Can You Do If This Content Is Showing Up?

Short of throwing your phone out the window (we’ve all considered it), here are a few steps you can take:

• Don’t engage. The algorithm rewards time and interaction. Scroll past it without watching, liking, or commenting.
• Use TikTok’s “Not Interested” feature. You can long-press on a video and select this option to improve your feed.
• Seek out recovery-positive content. There are creators sharing messages of body acceptance, mental health awareness, and authentic healing.
• Talk about it. Share what you’re seeing with a trusted loved one, a therapist, or support group. If a video triggers you, say it out loud.

And most importantly, don’t blame yourself. If you’ve been drawn into this kind of content, you’re not doing anything wrong. The platforms are designed to be addictive. The shame doesn’t belong to you.

We All Deserve Better

The creators making #SkinnyTok content aren’t necessarily bad actors. Many are struggling themselves. And with the feedback loop of likes, shares, and monetization, they’re incentivized to keep going, sometimes even when they know it’s harmful.

That’s why we need more conversations, more awareness, and more compassion. Whether you’re consuming the content or creating it, #SkinnyTok users are caught in the middle of an algorithm that cares more about capturing your attention than supporting your well-being.

If social media is making your recovery harder—or if you’re just starting to question your relationship with food and your body—you don’t have to go through this alone.

The Alliance for Eating Disorders is here to help. We offer free:

• Clinician-led support groups (both virtual and in-person)
• Therapist-staffed helpline, offering support and resources for individuals and loved ones
• A treatment finder tool to connect you with specialized providers and programs

Call our helpline at 866-662-1235 or visit allianceforeatingdisorders.com to take the next step.