The Toxicity of Tiktok
Let’s talk about TikTok. One of most beloved apps amongst gen z, millennials, and more, TikTok is a video creating and content sharing app in which people can show off their dance moves, comedy skills, acting, video editing, makeup skills, and more. All of this, of course, sounds wonderful! In theory, a platform for youth to show their creative side and talents with the world in a positive, fun, lighthearted way sounds excellent. However, what happens when you mix youth with an unguided, unfiltered, platform where you can freely leave comments on other’s videos?
TikTok was downloaded 738 million times in 2019 alone, meaning the amount of active profiles is extremely high, resulting in an influx of new videos from those new creators, as well as a continuous stream of videos from those who have already registered their platform. People continuously make videos following trends or fun ideas they’ve had with an abundance of hashtags in the caption in hopes of getting their videos on the “For You Page”, the section of viewing where you can see anyone’s video, even if you don’t follow them. Videos that make their way to the “For You page” can get anywhere from hundreds of thousands of views to over a million. This can be great, having your video go viral, sure. However, as we all know, the internet is not so kind. TikTok, is a selective beauty contest. Videos of a pretty girl standing and smiling can go viral for just that, being pretty and smiling. It’s no surprise that these pretty girls who go viral tend to be a size 2 (or smaller), and white. These girls, who have the stereotypically “perfect” bodies, and eurocentric beauty features are given by TikTok users something called “the hype”, which basically means that they deserve praise for the way that they look. Receiving praise for being beautiful, or handsome, or cute is something ego-filling that I think anyone would be happy to receive. However, it’s a double edged sword.
Just as people get easily praised for being beautiful, people can get so harshly bullied for the way that they look, just as easily. If you don’t fit the size 2, eurocentric mold, comments can be left on your video, attacking your features. Especially for your body, with comments like “If I were you, I would just never eat again”. Which yes, is a real comment I’ve seen left on a video. If you’re not size 2, you’re told to stop eating. To go exercise. To lose some weight. To change your body. That your body is not how the model and fashion industry promote, so your body must be wrong. Oh, you don’t have perfectly sized and shaped breasts, hips to match your shoulders, a perfectly sized and shaped ass, and a tiny waist in the middle? Then your body must be wrong. Through promoting this “hype” solely to people who do happen to fit this, it’s saying to people that “you don’t look this way, therefore you should not receive love this way”. But that’s of course not where it stops. If you are size 2, you’re told to go eat once in a while. A sandwich won’t kill you. God, you look sick. You look anorexic. Where’s the meat on those bones. Go workout and build up some muscle. Or, instead of comments being left that directly attack the creator themselves, comments can be left by views along the lines of: “wow, I’m never eating again” or, “yeah, I wasn’t hungry anyways”. No matter how your body looks, body shaming is body shaming. The words you choose to leave affect the person they’re reaching. Even if you mean to say that the restriction of your basic need is a compliment, it’s not.
Users on this app are constantly flooded with videos of people they wish their own bodies looked like, seeing people they don’t look like receiving hype, whereas as they could see in the next video someone that has a similar body type, or facial features being bullied and brought down for how they look. TikTok is meant to be a creative place of fun. However, insecurities, jealousy, and the overall societal pressure to be ‘perfect’ in every sense of the world have corrupted this hope of fun. TikTok is a toxic, body shaming, bullying environment. Yes, sometimes it can be so fun. It can be a great place for a laugh, or a relaxing video, or seeing some really cool content that someone spent a lot of time on. But this factor of looks is something the app has always possessed. This comparison of one user to another is something that has grown stronger as the app has aged, and some of its users with the largest following are feeling this shift as well. TikTok is evolving into a dangerous place of comparing person to person, and destroying the self esteem of its users (of course not every single one, but the amount of personal accounts I’ve heard on this is undeniable). It’s time to start recognizing people for their own individual beauty, something everyone possesses despite fitting stupid beauty standards or not. To the users of this app, do better. Your words have an impact. See, think, act. Being kind is not a hard trait to achieve, and spreading kindness is not a hard mentality to promote.
