Therapist and author Colleen Conklin tells Refinery29: “SkinnyTok mirrors earlier manifestations in many ways, especially Tumblr thinspo. The verbiage is centred specifically on being skinny, not healthy, which reveals the toxic aesthetic obsession beneath it.” She adds that today’s teens, who now get smartphones earlier than ever, are particularly vulnerable. Conklin is right, reports have shown that 31% of eight-year-olds had smartphones in 2021 (up from 11% in 2015). She adds that “even with parental controls, content like this can still be accessed, and many teens haven’t developed the media literacy to know it’s not sustainable or healthy.”
