Digital Body Checking

One of the latest social media trends on Tik Tok, Instagram and other platforms is the posting of photos by young women showing their abs and protruding hip bones. These posts are often times accompanied with the hashtag body checking, and they feature comments from people comparing their weight and shape to that of the person who posted the photo. This new trend is known as digital body checking, which experts say is a compulsive behavior where individuals are constantly checking their weight, shape, and appearance. It is one more evidence of the growing obsession our culture puts on physical appearances, which in turn feeds a host of body dysmorphic disorders. Digital body checking is also fueling the growing and destructive trend of comparison, not only among our young girls, but among grown women as well. We need to remind ourselves and our kids that our focus should first and foremost be on developing our walk with the Lord, and pursuing spiritual maturity.