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TikTok’s algorithm can leave young people with eating disorders feeling like they “couldn’t walk away” from harmful content, a researcher has told LBC.
Professor Heike Bartel, a professor researching the lived experiences of eating disorders, warned the app can create an “almost abusive relationship” with users.
Professor Heike said participants said they "wanted to get out" but "couldn't walk away" from the app after being repeatedly served pro-eating disorder content such as appearance-oriented videos, dieting videos, and exercise videos, and videos that encourage eating disorders.
"The algorithm really feeds them information they cannot stay away from," she told LBC after conducting qualitative research based on interviews with 17 young people aged 16 to 25 about their social media use.
"In many cases it can really exacerbate their eating disorder behaviour and make them more poorly."
She said what shocked her most were the personal accounts of how relentless the experience felt.
"The stories that people told us about how abusive it is and that it is inescapable,” she said.
“The way people are talking about it, saying ‘I wanted to get out. I said no, it wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t walk away.’
"Simply, these are really, really narratives that touched me very much and I found that very shocking.”
Some content viewed my participants was helpful in eating disorder recovery, the study said.
However, Professor Heike said the study found many had “very complicated relationships with the TikTok algorithm”, with the platform repeatedly serving up harmful material regardless of whether the engagement was positive or negative.
“The heart of the problem is that the algorithm feeds itself purely on engagement,” she said.
“It doesn’t really matter whether you approve, whether you’re negative or positive. If you stay for a certain time on a certain message… it feeds you more.”
TikTok employs sophisticated algorithms to deliver users increasingly personalised content over time.
Professor Heike said the issue is especially serious because social media is so deeply woven into young people’s lives.
“You can’t just give it up,” she said.
“Social media is such an important part of young people’s lives. It’s how they communicate, how they build relationships and so on. So opting out is not an option.”
Moreover, some content the young people interacted with was not in violation of TikTok's harmful content rules, such as gym content.
Professor Heike also stressed the harms are not limited to teenage girls, saying eating disorders affect “anybody from any sex and gender”.
Asked what should be done, Professor Heike said regulators and social media companies must give users more control over what appears in their feeds and do more to stop harmful content pathways.
“OFCOM has made tentative start there,” she said, calling for “very clear guidelines and recommendations” to platforms.
Professor Heike also said platforms “should be much more rigid about which hashtags are being put out there”, and called for wider education on social media and AI literacy for children, parents, carers and healthcare professionals.
On TikTok users can select 'not interested' on videos, manage topics and manage key words.
Other participants in the study mentioned other platforms, such as Tumblr, X, Reddit and YouTube in their responses
A Government spokesperson for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said “Through the Online Safety Act, we have introduced some of the strongest online safety protections in the world. This requires platforms to protect children from harmful content, including material related to eating disorders, bullying, self-harm and pornography.
“But we have always been clear that the Act wasn't the end of the conversation. We’ve launched a national consultation on bold measures to protect children online, from banning social media for under-16s to tackling addictive design features. When it comes to children's safety, nothing is off the table."
In response to the concerns, a TikTok spokesperson told LBC: "We prioritise our community's well-being by removing content that promotes disordered eating, ensuring diversity in the For You feed by interrupting repetitive content patterns, and empowering people with educational resources and tools to help shape their TikTok experience.
"These findings, based on a small number of interviews that mention a broad range of platforms, are not representative of the experience on TikTok."
