Social Media's Façade

Why you should be skeptical of social media body standards

I'm sure that at some point while scrolling through TikTok or Instagram you've come across fitness influencers looking absolutely jacked while promoting a particular lifestyle or product. I’m also sure that some of you have wished to look like some of these influencers. I know I have. However, the fact of the matter is that the majority of these influencers haven’t been completely honest with their fanbases.

A recent scandal that comes to mind is the Liver King saga. Long story short, fitness influencer Liver King (real name Brian Johnson) became known for his enormous physique. He claimed to have naturally obtained his build through living an “ancestral” lifestyle. Despite multiple of his fellow influencers calling him out for this bogus claim, he insisted that it was 100 percent natural. Later on, a set of emails were leaked, revealing that Liver King was taking $11,000 worth of performance-enhancing drugs each month. His natural claims were all a ruse to continue to promote and make money off his supplements that he claimed helped him attain his physique.

This has become an ever-growing issue in social media. Influencers are being dishonest about their lifestyles for the sake of financial gain, therefore generating false hope among their fanbases that they can also obtain their chemically-enhanced physiques through natural means.

Now if your favorite fitness influencer uses performance-enhancing drugs, this doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t give valuable advice. The important thing is that they are honest about their usage and not attempting to deceive you. Chemically-enhanced influencers who come forward and disclose that they are not natural athletes definitely deserve more respect than influencers willing to send their fans down a dangerous path for money. Just because some influencer achieves their physique through risky means doesn’t mean you should too. Many of these enhanced influencers work alongside professionals and doctors and undergo regular testing to make sure the health of all their bodily systems is in check.

The lesson to be learned here is probably one that you’ve heard many, many times: social media’s standards are simply not realistic. You never know what is truly behind these “dream physiques”. Though some influencers may give good advice, just be sure to do your own research and listen to the medical professionals who have dedicated their lives to making sure each individual can be their healthiest self. Be healthily skeptical and don’t aspire to social media blindly.

By: Evan Majors