a new viral TikTok trend using the voice Model Bella Hadid The audio has sparked concern online due to the normalization of disordered eating and downplay eating disorders.
Audio was originally taken from Video of iron from ID Cover photo, featuring the model’s voice saying, “My name is, my name is Bella Hadid.” While it was originally set to A great story from Hadid during Fashion WeekSoon, TikTok users started using audio to create delightful videos of themselves feeling attractive or trying on beauty tools.
But things took a turn when users started pairing the audio with restricted examples or troubled eating, from removing fat from pizza to skipping breakfast, to suggesting they feel like a mannequin like Hadid when they’re watching or restricting their eating. More extreme and disturbing examples have since emerged, with users sharing that they feel thin after vomiting or feel like iron after losing their appetite for weeks at a time due to mental health struggles. So far, Bella Hadid’s voice has been used in more than 93,000 videos on the platform.
Why are videos disturbing
Although users may assert that the trend is rooted in humor, experts warn that it could be harmful. For Jennifer Rollin, an eating disorder therapist and co-founder of the Eating Disorders Center in Rockville, Maryland, this trend is troubling because of the danger it poses to those who are predisposed to an eating disorder or are In recovery from an eating disorder It can be operated easily.
“This trend normalizes irregular eating and makes fun of irregular eating, equating eating less or eating a certain way with looking like a model – both of which are really unhealthy standards for people watching,” Rollin says, adding that the videos may It gives viewers “ideas” for disordered eating tactics. “It can normalize disordered eating, which makes it almost a wonderful thing, which is incredibly harmful and harmful for people who are prone to it.”
Read more: How Eating Disorder Survivors Seek Online Support
Even for those without an eating disorder, this trend can exacerbate a problematic misunderstanding of how dangerous these conditions are. according to British Journal of PsychiatryAmong all mental illnesses, anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate, while National Association for Anorexia Nervosa and Comorbid Disorders Reports indicate that of the nearly 30 million Americans with eating disorders, 26% have attempted suicide. studies It also shows that people with eating disorders are more likely to suffer worry and depression. Eddie Stark, a social worker who specializes in eating disorders, notes that highlighting this problem only increases the lack of recognition of the true harm of eating disorders.
“There is a common belief when someone has an eating disorder that they are not sick enough,” Stark says. “This trend reinforces that belief.” Stark argues that someone who is struggling might see one of these videos and think, “Others do it—it’s not that serious. They joke about it, so maybe I don’t have a problem.”
For Abbey Sharp, the registered dietitian who uses TikTok to debunk it Myths that emerged from diet cultureThe primary concern about this trend is that videos may prevent people from seeking help they may need. “Eating disorders are a big, real mental health problem. It’s no joke,” Sharp says.
Sharp also sees the trend of TikTok as a departure from the norm.”health“Popular content on the platform — videos in which creators share what they ate in a day or detail exercise routines, which she sees as another pernicious form of diet culture. She also worries about the troubling return to the aesthetic trend of extreme thinness in the 2000s era. “Unfortunately, we were seeing a resurgence of the ‘skinny age’ in the early 2000s,” she says, which could have serious consequences for those prone to an eating disorder. Like extreme examples of self-control, diet control, or willpower.”
Hadid herself wasn’t involved in making the trend, but, as a model, she has long been subjected to unwanted reactions about her body. This trend being associated with her name is sobering, given that she has spoken openly about her past struggles Anorexia And the deformation of the body; (A representative for Hadid did not respond to Time’s request for comment.)
Undo direction
tik tok algorithm It suggests videos and creators going to each user’s For You page, so the user has no control over the content that appears in their feed. Rollin recommends taking proactive steps to try to reduce one’s exposure to disturbing or potentially harmful content.
“If people feel this and similar trends are moving them, scroll past the videos or tap ‘Disinterested’ to try and change their algorithm,” she adds. “It can also be helpful to follow up on people who are promoting more anti-diet and body positive content on the app.
Sharp believes TikTok needs to take a stronger position when it comes to identifying which content is problematic. It encourages users to block and unfollow the accounts they produce, and call out videos and creators as if they were promoting other forms of inappropriate content.
“Once this trend is over, there will be another trend and another,” she says. “Until the voices speaking against this kind of content are loud enough, I’m not sure we’ll really see that much of a backsliding.”
Stark’s advice to TikTok users is to show themselves some grace, especially if they are struggling. “Be vigilant and take care of yourself when you’re on social media — and understand if a video excites you, it’s true,” she says. “If you are able to see these things and be OK, keep yourself safe, but know that you don’t need to change your body. You don’t need to slim down on pizza or diet to be better. You are worthy, just as you are.”
If you or someone you know has an eating disorder, you can call the National Eating Disorder Helpline at 1-800-931-2237; In the event of a crisis or emergency, text NEDA to 741741 for 24/7 support.
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