Thinspiration, also known as thinspo, is recognized as photographic content of women with thin body types promoting unhealthy eating habits and disorders.
[2] Thinspiration images were normally shared online in the early 2000s and 2010s on social media websites and forums, specifically in Pro-Ana groups, but not exclusively.
[9] Thinspiration is often disguised through fitness and active content for example, “fitspiration,” weight loss journeys, body checking, “clean” eating, detoxing, etc.
[10] Schmidt is a TikTok content creator who creates short form videos promoting her unhealthy low-calorie diet and her workout routine in a positive fashion.
Many researchers and online critics have said creators like Schmidt are problematic because it is threatening to audiences who are easily influenced (ie: adolescent girls and young women) and it is replicating thinspiration and Pro-Ana content since she is publicly promoting and attempting to normalize anorexic tendencies.
[13] It is viewed as controversial because it affects the self esteem of young women and it is a variation of thinspiration because it can influence consumers to go to drastic measures to attain that body type, possibly in a quick and unhealthy manner.
[17] Now, it has moved along onto other social media applications like TikTok and Instagram, where thinspiration has evolved to body checking and is seen as a cool way to perhaps show off a new workout set or how much weight it is lost.