TikTok as The New Tumblr: How Social Media (Overtly) Counters The Body Positivity Movement

TW: This episode contains discussions about body image, weight loss, disordered and restrictive eating, self harm and other topics that listeners may consider traumatic.  In this week's episode, I explore how TikTok's algorithm and early platform priorities primed the app to overtly counter the body positivity movement and why some believe that Gen Z's favourite app has become as toxic as 2000s Tumblr. Timestamps: 4:00 A brief history of body positivity content online: An illusion of inclusivity 7:10 How TikTok shattered this illusion 8:25 TikTok’s algorithmic bias feedback loop 14:00 Sienna Mae Gomez as one of TikTok’s first body positivity creators 15:45 How Tumblr glamourised self-harm, EDs, and mental illness in girls and young women 21:36 Comparing 2000s Tumblr and TikTok today Find our podcast YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC18HclY7Tt5-1e3Z-MEP7Jg  Subscribe to our weekly Substack: https://centennialworld.substack.com/  Join our Geneva home: https://links.geneva.com/invite/7eb23525-9259-4d59-95e3-b9edd35861a5  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/infinitescrollpodcast/ Follow Lauren on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmeisner_/  Sources: https://www.vox.com/22697168/body-positivity-image-millennials-gen-z-weight  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/dec/03/tiktok-owns-up-to-censoring-some-users-videos-to-stop-bullying  https://netzpolitik.org/2019/discrimination-tiktok-curbed-reach-for-people-with-disabilities/  https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/  https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50645345  https://staff.tumblr.com/post/18132624829/self-harm-blogs https://www.nylon.com/beauty/tumblr-eating-disorder-content-is-on-tiktok-how-to-navigate-it https://theconversation.com/should-pro-ana-websites-be-criminalised-in-australia-79197 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/why-eating-disorders-are-so-hard-for-instagram-and-tumblr-to https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144523000852?via%3Dihub  https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/tiktok-body-checks-49350628  https://www.vox.com/the-goods/22832827/manifesting-tiktok-astroworld-conspiracy-qanon-religion  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/well/move/tiktok-legging-legs-eating-disorders.html  https://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/55425/1/tiktok-pro-ana-eating-disorder-social-media-moderate-disordered  https://www.thedailybeast.com/tiktok-slammed-for-doing-nothing-over-pro-anorexia-content-by-center-for-countering-digital-hate  https://www.tiktok.com/community-guidelines/en/mental-behavioral-health#2  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/legging-legs-trend-tiktok-social-media-experts/