Helpful or Not? A Qualitative Study on Female Adolescents’ Experience of TikTok When Recovering From Anorexia Nervosa

Objective

The scientific literature reports on how social media potentially influences eating disorders, although there is a large gap in the specific case of TikToks influence of adolescent's recovery from anorexia nervosa (AN). Our study uses in-depth interviews with female adolescents primarily suffering from AN to explore how they perceive the social media platform TikTok in relation to their recovery.

Method

A total of 14 interviews with female adolescents recovering from AN were conducted and analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

We developed four distinct main themes: social connectivity, algorithmic engagement, regulation and adaptation, and personal agency and recovery pathways.

Our findings indicate both potential benefits and harm by TikTok use when in recovery from AN, depending on a complex interplay of individual and contextual factors.

Discussion

The study adds nuance to the on-going scientific debate on the role that TikTok plays in recovery from AN in general from the perspective provided by female adolescents. Suggestions are made for clinical implications at adolescent AN outpatient care including parental or professional support in TikTok adaptations and advice on how to discern when use may be triggering or supportive. Future research would benefit from longitudinal designs and inclusion of how individual differences, such as gender and personality, influence the effects on recovery and TikTok use.