By Hannah Holtmeyer
Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service that was launched in
October of 2010. If you follow even a few Instagram influencers and have scrolled through their posts, especially during the “bikini season” summer months, you have probably noticed an overwhelming number of sponsored posts for various weight-loss teas and supplements or detox products. These products claim to suppress appetite and increase weight-loss among many other claims. Countless celebrities promote these teas, most of whom are among the most followed accounts on the social media platform. Celebrities are not alone in sharing these posts though. Many non-famous, less influential people have joined in on the trend. How effective are these products? Are they worth the cost? And most importantly, what kind of influence do these posts have on the physical and mental health of adolescent and teen social media users?
Photos from Instagram
Many people believe that these products can be a quick fix to achieve a body like their promoters. These products can be considered a type of fad diet. Fad diets can be dangerous because they lack adequate nutrition and/or they can introduce unhealthy substances into the body. A product that promises to allow someone to lose weight quickly should be investigated before use. The proper way to achieve a healthy weight is through a balanced diet and adequate exercise. These weight-loss and detox products put an unrealistic and unattainable goal into the minds of consumers by allowing them to believe that simply replacing meals with the products can result in similar outcomes. In actuality, many of the social media influencers who promote these products have nutritionists, personal trainers, and surgeons to help them achieve their bodies. They are not simply consuming the products that they promote.
A study published in March of this year found that social media exposure to unhealthy foods immediately increased calorie intake, especially from unhealthy foods. Even when healthy foods were influenced by famous YouTube vloggers, they were still not chosen by adolescents over their unhealthy counterparts. This brings up the question: if adolescents cannot be swayed to make healthy choices, even if they are promoted by celebrities, does celebrity influence further encourage unhealthy choices?
Photos from Instagram
It is estimated that approximately 57 million Instagram users are under the age of 18. Instagram his finally taken a stand on the concerns involving the impact of diet, detox, and cosmetic surgery content. This content can have a hugely negative impact on young people, including their mental health and body image as well as physical health. Recently, in September of this year, Instagram placed tighter restrictions on posts related to diet products and cosmetic surgery. These restrictions are based primarily on the age settings of the viewer’s account. The new rules hide posts that promote the use of weight-loss products or cosmetic procedure including a price from any user under the age of 18.
If you’re anything like me, you have just spent quite a while on Instagram to look for these posts. You’re probably over the age of 18. So why you can’t find any of these posts that took over your feed not so long ago? In addition to hiding future posts, Instagram has also removed any content that made an unbelievable claim about weight-loss or diet products that was linked with a discount code or other company offer.
What can we do to further this movement? Instagram has added an option to report a post that violates these new guidelines. This feature allows Instagram to further investigate the post and determine its appropriateness. They will take action to remove the posts if determined to be in violation of the guidelines.
These new rules are a large steps towards reducing the pressure to be perfect that often comes with social media use. Instagram has created these guidelines to address mental health, but we can take the impact much further. By discouraging the use of the potentially harmful products, physical health can be improved for members of all age groups as well.
Sources:
Bell, Louis M. “How Does Social Media Influence Children's Choice of Foods?” New England Journal of Medicine, 11 Mar. 2019, https://www.jwatch.org/na48686/2019/03/11/how-does-social-media-influence-childrens-choice-foods.
Dall'Asen, Nicola. “Jameela Jamil Went Off On Celebrities Who Promote Weight-Loss Tea.” Revelist, 26 Nov. 2018, https://www.revelist.com/body-positive/jameela-jamil-went-off-on/14101.
“Instagram Tightens Rules on Diet and Cosmetic Surgery Posts.” The Guardian, PA Media, 18 Sept. 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/18/instagram-tightens-rules-on-diet-and-cosmetic-surgery-posts.
Worthy, Paige. “Top Instagram Demographics That Matter to Social Media Marketers.” Hootsuite, 26 Sept. 2018, https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-demographics/.
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