Tik Tok is an app where anyone, over the age of 13, can make an account and post short videos doing whatever, within reason, that they can fit in the allotted time frame. Videos on the app showcase anything from dancing, singing, and acting to death defying stunts.

Recently, however, the app’s focus has shifted. A majority of the videos posted have been about body image and if the videos themselves aren’t about that certain topic there seems to always be a huge discussion of it in the comment section.

This focus of body image has been really toxic for all of the girls on the app including bigger named celebrities. Charli D’amelio who is 16 years old and one of the most popular creators on Tik Tok with over 50 million followers, addressed the issue herself. D’amelio is known for her dancing videos and recently all of the comments on her videos were about how she had gained weight or how she was way too skinny.

D’amelio came out publicly and responded to these hate comments on Twitter saying “STOP TALKING ABOUT MY BODY” and “It’s not your place to tell me if I’m losing weight or gaining weight.”

Later D’amelio encouraged her viewers that it was important to “understand that we should just be kind and uplift everyone instead of bring others down.”

D’amelio wasn’t the only celebrity affected by this. Singer songwriter Madison Beer had the same negative experience on the app. Beer stated that she wan’t to leave the app because “the energy on [the app was] draining [her]…[there is] so much hate and negativity.”

“I’m tired of seeing a girl dance on my [for you page] only to go to the comments and see people making fun of her body or something, it hurts me. So much,” Beer stated in on one of her Tik Toks.

This shift in the focus of the app has made it a toxic environment for many, rather than a fun and creative one. Tik tok has become an app that preys on the insecurities of younger girls, or girls and boys of any age, and exploits them. This app is no longer a hub for positivity and a place to show off talents that you are proud of, but a negative place promoting self-hate and an unachievable image.

Making fun of peoples’ bodies isn’t the only toxic part on Tik Tok in terms of body image. On Tik Tok’s where a girl is seen to have “the perfect body” the comments will be flooded with remarks like “there goes my self-confidence”, “I’m never eating again”, and so many more negative, self-deprecating things that just ruin girl’s images of themselves.

I know that body image and chasing the “perfect body and perfect image” has always been a problem on social media, but I have never seen it go this far. This app is ruining girls and putting this toxic image in their heads that they only way to be pretty is to have no body fat what so ever which, for the record, is extremely unhealthy. This app rarely brings any positivity anymore — it has just spiraled into an unhealthy and severely negative place.

The focus of this app needs to be fixed because the self-worth and self-love of so many girls are now completely non-existent. This app isn’t only hurting girls who feel like they aren’t skinny or pretty enough, but girls who are skinny are getting hurt too with comments like “eat a burger” or “I can see your ribs.” This app has made people very ignorant to the fact that other girls have feelings too.

Tik Toks current body shaming trends will be detrimental to the health and well being of girls all around the world. I hope more people step up and try to fight this issue and restore the original purpose of Tik Tok and remove this negativity that trails its every step.