While it’s understood that TikTok is a place where you can find some pretty cool hacks and facts and cult products, it’s also not at all uncommon to find some more dubious exports (or just stuff that reinforces parts of diet culture) on the clock app from various influencers. It just gets stressful when those influencers are very young, as seen in the comment section of a post from Real Housewives of New Jersey’s Teresa Giudice’s pre-teen daughter pushing a “green and superfood” supplement..
In the clip, which is sponsored according to as Page Six, Audriana Giudice, who is 12, touts the benefits of Bloom Nutrition Greens & Superfoods powder, noting that it “strengthens immunity” and that it “helps with digestion and bloating.”
As SheKnows previously reported, there’s a disturbing trend of content that ranges from weight loss and diet culture obsessed to straight-up pro-eating disorder appearing on apps like TikTok. For younger demographics especially, seeing their peers engaging with this culture can be damaging for their self-image and self-esteem and how they view and treat their still-growing bodies.
The comment section saw quite a few people who were also pretty disturbed by seeing someone so young pushing a product like this: “Since when do 12 year olds get bloating?? I’m sorry they’re making you do this,” was written by one user. Another wondered “WHY ARE THEY MAKING A 12 YEAR OLD DO THIS LIKE WHAT.”
While various supplements for nutrition can benefit different people with different bodies, the nature of this being part of an influencer marketing campaign is what might give people pause. That and the nature of some of the more insidious diet culture buzzwords about “bloating” being on the radar of a literal child can open some not-so-great doors into the ways we talk about food, nutrition and bodies with our kids and teens.
As Donna Fish, L.C.S.W.-R., author of Take the Fight Out of Food and expert on disordered eating previously told SheKnows, it’s important for parents to help their kids cultivate a strong internal B.S. detector when it comes to diet content online — especially when someone is trying to sell a product or a certain kind of lifestyle: “You want them to be able to make their own decisions for themselves. You want to inquire a little bit about it but [talk some sense into them] if they’re going to be that vulnerable. Kids are vulnerable to extremes and that’s why you’ve got to know your kid and help them figure out how to make decisions so they’re not the follower, the lemming running off the cliff.”
Before you go, check out these quotes to encourage positive attitudes about food and bodies:
Source: Read Full Article