Thinspo

The word “thinspo” is cutting a dangerous path through today’s youth culture. Spelled t-h-i-n-s-p-o, Thinspo is short for thin inspiration. It’s a social media user movement offering up memes, quotes, pictures, and posts designed to encourage diet and weight loss. The movement is coming under fire for the ways in which it promotes warped and unhealthy body image standards, particularly for our girls. Experts are rightly warning that the thinspo movement is fueling disordered eating and body dysmorphia. One of many memes I viewed simply says, “Don’t ever stop trying. Because one day, you will be thin.” One seventeen year old in the thinspo movement posted a video on TikTok telling viewers that all she had consumed that day was a jug filled with ice water, with the hashtag what I eat in a day. Parents, the pressure to be thin is strong. Peer influence is powerful. Be aware, and encourage your kids away from the dangers of worshiping the god of thinness.