Personal Article
As this app has taken over the world, TikTok has become an absolute phenomenon. With its increasing popularity, one question arises: Is TikTok bodypositive?
by Vivega Saravana Prabhu
As we all are sitting at home waiting for this pandemic to end, many, like me, are turning to different sources of entertainment to fill that void of emptiness and boredom. And on top of that list is TikTok. Over the past few months, the app has reached 1 BILLION DOWNLOADS, me being one of them.
If for some reason you don’t know what “TikTok” is, it’s basically an app where anyone from anywhere can post short videos doing ANYTHING they want. They share ideas, show off talents, acting skills, try out new dance moves, and even bring up the courage to express their insecurities to the outside world, gaining support and comfort from others.
However, as TikTok reaches more individuals worldwide, new problems arise, one of them being body shaming. Does TikTok lead way to body shaming or does it reduce it?
As you scroll through this app you might come across numerous teenage TikTokers who have gained a fanbase of millions over the past year. Although there are a few exceptions, most of these popular teenagers share a similar body type: the lean and slender girls and jock like muscular boys. Unfortunately, this leads young minds to the conclusion that it is necessary to have a certain body type in order to gain popularity and become a celebrity.
As I mentioned before, TikTok does provide people with the opportunity to fight their insecurities, and receive a lot of love from their viewers. But at the same time, there are also haters who body shame them, only making their insecurities worse.
Body Shaming comes in different forms on TikTok, some through duets (people recording their reactions to the video), and some through comments. Here you can read examples of negative comments that I found while scrolling through my “For You” page:
Even though I hate to admit that there are people body shaming others in this virtual community, I am also happy to add that there are many more people who are willing to encourage and compliment them for their confidence.
There are individuals who may say that if the person posts a video, then they should be ready for the backlash they will receive, or else they should just not post at all. To that, I would PERSONALLY like to say, just watch the video and if you like it, then hit the like button, and even leave a complementing comment. But, if you don’t, just move on and scroll past. Just like you were taught in elementary school, if you have nothing nice to say, then don’t say it at all.
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