It's almost impossible to avoid triggering content on TikTok

Mashable’s series Algorithms explores the mysterious lines of code that increasingly control our lives — and our futures. 

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TikTok's algorithm is almost too good at suggesting relatable content — to the point of being detrimental for some users' mental health. 

It's nearly impossible to avoid triggering content on TikTok, and because of the nature of the app's never-ending For You Page, users can easily end up trapped scrolling through suggested content curated for their specific triggers. 

Videos glorifying disordered eating, for example, are thriving on TikTok. The tag #flatstomach has 44.2 million views. The tags #proana and #thinsp0, short for pro-anorexia and thin inspiration, have 2.1 million views and 446,000 views, respectively. As senior editor Rachel Charlene Lewis wrote in Bitch, pro-ana culture and the internet intertwined long before TikTok's ubiquity on teenagers' phones. During the early days of social media, young people used forums and message boards to track their weight loss and swap diet tips. In the early 2010s, eating disorder blogs glorifying sharp collarbones and waifish ribcages flourished on Tumblr. Read more...

More about Mental Health, Algorithms, Tiktok, Culture, and Web Culture

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