The Dark Side of Body Positivity Online

(Disclaimer: this experience is from my own lense, and may be very different from everyone else)

Confusion. It hit me like a wave — I was just an 11-year-old girl, scrolling through YouTube looking for peace. A video popped up with 3.5 million views. The thumbnail seemed harmless: a girl sharing “What I Eat in a Day.”

I clicked.

That one video became a cycle I couldn’t stop watching — and it became addictively harmful. I’ll tell you why.

At 11, I was a curious tween. No one forced me to watch it, but I also didn’t know what I was about to walk into. That video — and the many others like it — blurred the line between healing and harm. It was labeled a “recovery day of eating” video, filled with captions like:

• “I used to cut half my calories.”

• “I want to be skinny.”

• “No more food for today.”

Five minutes later, the tone shifted. Suddenly, she said things like:

• “I love my body now.”

• “I overcame my eating disorder.”

• “I want to help others heal.”

But the damage was already done.

She meant to inspire.Instead, she triggered.

To an adult, these videos may look “motivating.” But to an 11-year-old girl struggling quietly with body image, the message was confusing and deeply unsafe. I didn’t just watch her recovery — I envied her disorder.

That’s the danger of content like this.

It’s wild to look back and realize: this video wasn’t bad in the traditional sense. But for a developing girl — one in the middle of puberty, trying to find herself — it was emotionally and mentally unsafe. That video didn’t just introduce me to disordered thinking. It sparked it.

Social Media Isn’t the Only Trigger — Sometimes It’s YouTube “Positivity”

People often talk about eating disorders being triggered by Instagram or TikTok filters. But no one talks about how many girls start spiraling because of YouTubers promoting ‘body positivity’ while casually romanticizing starvation.

I lived it. And I still carry the pieces.

So Here’s What I Know Now

I’m okay now. I’m healing. But I need you to hear this:

That one video — the one with the soft lighting and big promises of recovery — led to years of anxiety, depression, and family pain. All because someone decided to share their story without realizing how it might land on someone younger. Someone vulnerable. Someone like me.

Girls in their tween and teen years deserve better than that.

This Is Why I Created This Platform

Not just to share stories like mine — but to create a space for girls after the eating disorder. When everyone assumes you're “better,” but you still feel broken. When you don’t want another glamorized recovery video. You want truth. You want help. You want healing.

This is where we begin.