The time of content and media that we consume online can have an enormous impact on our self esteem and mental health, and TikTok can have a decidedly negative effect in that regard. According to a recent study that was released in the Body Image journal, a negative correlation could be seen between watching beauty videos on TikTok and a young woman’s self esteem.
What this basically means is that young women that watch videos like this are more likely to experience anxiety about their self worth than might have been the case otherwise. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this is not the only type of impact that TikTok videos can have.
The type of video that you watch can change the effect, with self esteem and self love themed videos not causing the same kinds of problems with all things having been considered and taken into account. In spite of the fact that this is the case, much of the content that can be seen on TikTok is beauty oriented, and this can create unreasonable expectations for how people should look.
The study was conducted with a set of female participants who were between the ages of 17 and 25, all of whom are based in Australia. Three sets of seven minute TikTok compilations were created, one of which was in the beauty niche, the other being in the travel niche, and the final one being self compassion focused.
The participants were then assigned these clips at random, and they were asked to rate their mood after watching them. Watching beauty videos on TikTok led to increased feelings of shame and anxiety, whereas the women that watched the self compassion videos reported an increased sense of wellbeing.
While this study is by no means definitive, it does point to a glaring problem in the world of social media, namely in how it changes people’s self perception. More research must be done to uncover the true effects and how long they might last.
Read next: STEM Hashtags See 30% Uptick After TikTok’s New Feed
What this basically means is that young women that watch videos like this are more likely to experience anxiety about their self worth than might have been the case otherwise. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this is not the only type of impact that TikTok videos can have.
The type of video that you watch can change the effect, with self esteem and self love themed videos not causing the same kinds of problems with all things having been considered and taken into account. In spite of the fact that this is the case, much of the content that can be seen on TikTok is beauty oriented, and this can create unreasonable expectations for how people should look.
The study was conducted with a set of female participants who were between the ages of 17 and 25, all of whom are based in Australia. Three sets of seven minute TikTok compilations were created, one of which was in the beauty niche, the other being in the travel niche, and the final one being self compassion focused.
The participants were then assigned these clips at random, and they were asked to rate their mood after watching them. Watching beauty videos on TikTok led to increased feelings of shame and anxiety, whereas the women that watched the self compassion videos reported an increased sense of wellbeing.
While this study is by no means definitive, it does point to a glaring problem in the world of social media, namely in how it changes people’s self perception. More research must be done to uncover the true effects and how long they might last.
Read next: STEM Hashtags See 30% Uptick After TikTok’s New Feed
