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The Role of YouTube in Promoting Eating Disorders Among Teens

Anna Mockel, now 18, reflects on her experience growing up in the age of social media, particularly YouTube. At 14, during the spring of 2020, she found herself grappling with an obsession with weight loss after graduating from eighth grade remotely. Amid the COVID lockdowns, Anna’s life revolved around social media, where she spent hours scrolling through videos that increasingly fixated on body image and diet.

As Anna engaged with content that showcased slender girls, she noticed a shift in her YouTube recommendations. What began as harmless videos transitioned quickly into a barrage of diet and exercise tutorials. The algorithm seemed to amplify her interest, pulling her deeper into a realm of weight loss hacks and extreme dietary restrictions. She recalls being inundated with videos promoting dangerously low-calorie diets, despite knowing that adolescents require significantly more calories to stay healthy.

“I didn’t realize that this kind of content was even prevalent until I found myself affected by it,” Anna admits. As she tried to emulate what she saw online, her weight plummeted rapidly. Although she recognized the existence of eating disorders, the dots only connected when she received an anorexia diagnosis. This marked the beginning of a long and challenging battle that led to multiple hospitalizations and residential treatment by the age of 16.

Anna’s story reflects a broader trend that has caught the attention of researchers and organizations dedicated to online safety. A recent report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) highlights how YouTube’s algorithm intentionally promotes content detrimental to vulnerable users, particularly teenage girls struggling with body image issues. The study reveals that nearly 70% of the videos recommended to users interested in diet and weight loss exacerbate concerns about body image.

These troubling findings reveal that the videos in question attract an average of 344,000 views, significantly higher than typical YouTube content, and they are often interspersed with advertisements from well-known brands like Nike and T-Mobile. It remains uncertain whether these companies are aware of which videos their ads are associated with.

“Social media platforms need to stop experimenting on young audiences as they develop,” emphasizes James P. Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media. He stresses the responsibility of these platforms to safeguard their young users rather than prioritize engagement at the expense of their wellbeing.

The CCDH report, titled “YouTube’s Anorexia Algorithm,” used the hypothetical profile of a 13-year-old girl, performing searches based on popular eating disorder-related keywords. The analysis found that an alarming portion of the recommended videos either glamorized or actively promoted unhealthy eating behaviors. Specifically, around two-thirds of these recommendations directed the user toward content associated with eating disorders.

Imran Ahmed, the founder of CCDH, criticized the platform for perpetuating harmful narratives, stating that these algorithms essentially reeducate young people to engage in self-destructive behaviors. This troubling trend underscores an alarming disregard for the platform’s own policies designed to protect users.

With YouTube being the most frequented social media platform among U.S. teens, it is particularly concerning that a vast majority engage with it daily. Approximately three-quarters of these youth report visiting the site at least once each day without requiring an account, potentially exposing them to harmful content without restrictions.

Legal actions are being taken against YouTube by organizations like the Social Media Victims Law Center, which argue that the platform’s design intentionally fosters addictive behavior and contributes to the emergence of eating disorders among its users. They have filed numerous lawsuits claiming that YouTube remains complicit in the proliferation of damaging content.

Another young girl, now 17, shared her experience echoing Anna’s struggle. She claims that her encounter with YouTube began innocently but quickly spiraled into an obsession with extreme dieting and exercising that ultimately led to her diagnosis with an eating disorder. Her story underscores the significant impact that targeted content can have on impressionable viewers.

When approached for comment regarding the design of its algorithms, YouTube refrained from providing specific responses. The platform states that it is committed to improving its guidelines surrounding content related to eating disorders and aims to implement age restrictions on potentially triggering videos. However, evidence from the CCDH study indicates that harmful content continues to slip through the cracks, prompting calls for greater accountability.

The issue of eating disorders and body image anxiety increasingly requires urgent attention as research indicates that online platforms like YouTube play a significant role in shaping perceptions among vulnerable teens. As public awareness grows, advocacy for stricter regulations and a more humane approach to content recommendations is more vital than ever.

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