Mental Health News
A team of researchers at the University of Tennessee, the US, explored the link between TikTok use and body dissatisfaction. The study is published in the journal Body Image.
The Study
The researchers recruited 778 American women, aged 18–29 years, from colleges across the US. The participants completed clinical measures on TikTok use, appearance comparisons, body image issues and surveillance, exposure to body-positive media, social media literacy, etc.
The Findings
The results revealed that using TikTok negatively affects body image and body satisfaction, especially in women. It was also found that women with higher levels of commercial media literacy and exposure to body-positive content are not immune to the negative mental health effects of TikTok use.
The authors remarked: “Our results suggest that women should limit their time on TikTok in order to reduce body dissatisfaction. Future research should explore other potential buffers in this link, such as body neutrality, in order to discover ways to help women combat body dissatisfaction in the face of social media use.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Bissonette Mink, D., & Szymanski, D. M. (2022). TikTok use and body dissatisfaction: Examining direct, indirect, and moderated relations. Body image, 43, 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2022.09.006