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Scrolling through body-focused TikToks takes a toll — even the uplifting ones. A new PLOS One study found that "thinspiration" videos worsened mood and increased self-objectification in women, while body-positive content boosted mood but still heightened focus on appearance. Women who already tend to judge themselves by their looks were especially vulnerable to the negative effects.
A new study published in PLOS One found that appearance-focused TikTok videos — whether promoting thinness or body positivity — increased self-objectification in women. "Thinspiration" content worsened mood, while body-positive videos improved mood but still directed attention toward physical appearance. Women with a higher baseline tendency to self-objectify were especially vulnerable to mood dips after viewing thin-ideal content.
The study involved 323 women and feminine-identifying individuals, mostly college-aged, who watched 20 randomized TikTok videos across five categories and reported their mood and self-objectification levels after each clip. Fitspiration content — which blends appearance with skill-building — showed a potential "buffering" effect, as it didn't link self-objectification to worse mood the way thinspiration did.
Why it matters: With social media use pervasive among young women, understanding how algorithmically curated content shapes body image and mental health is increasingly relevant for clinicians — especially those treating eating disorders, body dysmorphia, or low self-esteem.
