Tick-Tock, the Time Has Come: Leveraging TikTok to Understand, Prevent, and Treat Eating Disorders

TikTok-a highly engaging social media platform with a powerful algorithm that displays short videos-has become massively popular in recent years. As research highlights the concerning relationship between image-based content on social media and disordered eating symptoms, TikTok may serve as an optimal platform to understand eating disorders (EDs) and body image-related concerns.

We conducted a rapid review of the research on TikTok, EDs, and body image. From an initial pool of 205 articles, 58 met inclusion criteria for the review. Research included content analyses (n = 19), observational studies (n = 23 studies reported in 22 articles), and experimental studies (n = 22 studies reported in 17 articles).

The research identified both potentially harmful content and ED recovery content present on TikTok. There are potentially positive effects of body positivity and body neutrality TikTok content on body image and ED risk.

The literature mostly includes non-representative samples of young women. It remains unclear what effects identified in research so far are specific to TikTok, versus generalizable to short-form video content. We conclude by discussing TikTok's potential as a platform for disseminating evidence-based ED information and delivering brief interventions, drawing on harm reduction principles to promote TikTok as a space where providers can meet social media users with EDs where they are. Instead of encouraging users to stop their TikTok usage, we suggest that future research explore how TikTok can be leveraged as a tool for ED treatment, a crucial avenue given the limited accessibility of ED treatment.