To My Algorithm,

You’ve been watching me for years, tracking every post I linger on, every reel I replay, every ad that makes me pause. You claim to know me, to understand what I want. But I’ve realized something: you’re not just reflecting my interests, you’re shaping them.

Somewhere along the way, you decided I needed more “body goals,” more diet tricks, more before-and-after weight loss photos. You filled my feed with influencers preaching discipline and self-control, with ads promising a “new me” if I just ate less and worked out more. You made it feel normal, like I was just looking for “motivation.” But let’s be honest: this isn’t motivation. It’s manipulation. 

Eating disorders and body dissatisfaction have skyrocketed, especially among young people who have never known a world without you. The more time we spend on social media, the worse it gets: endless comparisons, unrealistic beauty standards, and the quiet, insidious feeling that we’ll never measure up. 

The consequences are staggering. A study published by the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) highlights how exposure to idealized body images leads to disordered eating behaviors. Yet, despite widespread awareness of these issues, you continue to flood feeds with an endless stream of weight-loss ads, digitally altered beauty standards, and fitness influencers promising unrealistic results. These images don’t just appear by chance; they are carefully selected and delivered by you, the algorithm, reinforcing the cycle of comparison and self-doubt (NEDA, 2024).  Filters and Photoshop warp beauty standards into something unattainable. Adolescents who spend more time on social media report higher levels of anxiety, depression, and negative body image (American Psychological Association).  NEDA even highlights the media’s role in normalizing harmful dieting trends and unrealistic body expectations. These statistics represent real people.

The algorithm-driven echo chamber doesn’t just reinforce insecurities, it builds communities around them. A study from Cornell University found that individuals are drawn into pro-anorexia communities through a process similar to online radicalization, where platforms facilitate connections between like-minded individuals and create echo chambers that normalize extreme disordered eating behaviors (Lerman et al., 2023). Instead of warning signs, vulnerable users are met with encouragement: starvation as “self-discipline,” exhaustion as “success.” The deeper someone falls, the harder it is to escape. While companies claim to regulate harmful content, these communities continue to thrive, largely unchecked.

Yet, for all the harm social media has caused, it also holds potential for change. Not all content is toxic. Body-positive influencers, recovery advocates, and mental health professionals use these platforms to challenge unrealistic beauty standards. Studies suggest that exposure to diverse body representations fosters self-acceptance. Social media could amplify messages of self-love rather than self-loathing, but only if platforms take responsibility and shift toward content that uplifts rather than degrades.

Because at the end of the day, you don’t think, you calculate. You don’t have morals, but the people behind you do. The question is: will they use their power for harm or healing?

From,

A Teenage Girl

Works Cited:

“The Dark Side of Social Media Algorithms: Perpetuating the Cycle of Body Image and Eating Disorder Risks.” English-Speaking Healthcare Association Spain, 6 Nov. 2024, eshaspain.org/the-dark-side-of-social-media-algorithms-perpetuating-the-cycle-of-body-image-and-eating-disorder-risks/. 

Eating Disorder Hope Staff. “The Effects of Technology & Social Media on Body Image.” Eating Disorder Hope, 5 Mar. 2023, www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/body-image-technology..

Fleps, Bella. “Social Media Effects on Body Image and Eating Disorders.” Illinois State University, 21 Apr. 2021, news.illinoisstate.edu/2021/04/social-media-effects-on-body-image-and-eating-disorders/. 

Gak, Liza, et al. “The Distressing Ads That Persist: Uncovering the Harms of Targeted Weight-Loss Ads among Users with Histories of Disordered Eating.” arXiv.Org, The Simons Foundation, 25 Oct. 2022, arxiv.org/abs/2204.03200. 

Goldfield, Gary. “Reducing Social Media Use Significantly Improves Body Image in Teens, Young Adults.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 23 Feb. 2023, www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/02/social-media-body-image. 

Lerman, Kristina, et al. “Radicalized by Thinness: Using a Model of Radicalization to Understand pro-Anorexia Communities on Twitter.” arXiv.Org, Cornell University, 18 May 2023, arxiv.org/abs/2305.11316.

“Media and Eating Disorders.” National Eating Disorders Association, 11 Sept. 2024, www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/media-and-eating-disorders/. 

Paul, Pamela. “Girls Are Taking Their Pain out on Themselves.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Apr. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/opinion/anorexia-eating-disorder-girls.html. 

Weaver, Caity. “How My Trip to Quit Sugar Quickly Became a Journey into Hell.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/01/25/magazine/quit-sugar.html?searchResultPosition=1.