Content will disturb

A health warning is warranted when fitness influencers post dubious content consumed by millions of young people

- Nicky Pellegrino

Social media may not be sufficiently safe for children and adolescents, the US Surgeon General has concluded. Up to 95% of teenagers and 40% of children aged 8-12 are engaging with platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, often for several hours a day, and some of the content they are viewing is inappropriate and harmful.

Driving the growing concerns is research that shows teenagers who spend more than three hours a day viewing social media have more than double the risk of poor mental health. Increased body dissatisfaction and disordered eating are also among the risks, particularly for adolescent girls.

Instagram, one of the more popular social networks, has around a billion active users worldwide and if you scroll through #fitspiration or #fitspo on your feed you will be bombarded with images of toned and muscular people promoting exercise.

Since this content is so accessible and prevalent, researchers at the University of South Australia were interested in drilling down into exactly what was being posted by fitness influencers and whether it might be harmful or helpful.