Beauty Influencer Toxicity: A Psychiatrist’s Warning
to be a Pulitzer-winning chief editor.
The toxic Toll of the Screen: Beauty Influencers as Harmful as Andrew Tate, Psychiatrist Warns
By Ahmed Hassan, Pulitzer Prize-winning Chief Editor
The digital landscape is increasingly under scrutiny for its impact on young minds, and a recent discussion at the Scottish parliament’s festival of Politics has brought a startling comparison to light: beauty influencers can be just as damaging as controversial figure Andrew Tate.
Dr. mathew Sadlier, a consultant psychiatrist at Dublin’s Mater Hospital, voiced his concerns during the event, titled “Smartphone Free Childhood?”, chaired by Douglas Ross, Conservative MSP for Highlands and Islands and convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Education, Children and Young People Committee. He highlighted a worrying trend: while the types of problems facing young people haven’t necessarily changed, their severity has increased, coinciding with the rise of social media.
“I would say it’s not that it’s creating new problems, but the people who have the problems who would’ve fallen into that vulnerability group are becoming more extreme,” Dr. Sadlier explained. He noted a rise in extreme eating disorders among girls, mirroring a parallel increase in issues like bodybuilding obsession, overeating, and steroid use among boys. The accessibility of harmful content, particularly around self-harm, is a significant concern, with a readily available ”ecosystem” dedicated to it.
But it’s not just the explicitly dangerous content that’s the problem. Dr. Sadlier argues that beauty influencers, while seemingly innocuous, can be equally toxic, albeit targeting a different demographic. “You go into that world with the beauty influencers: I think beauty influencers are just as toxic as andrew Tate, they’re just toxic to a different population,” he stated. The issue isn’t a single problematic video,but the sheer volume of content consumed.
This conversation comes at a time when new regulations are being implemented to protect young people online. The recently enacted Online Safety Act places new duties on providers to reduce the risk of illegal activity and remove harmful content. Specific protections are designed for children, requiring platforms to prevent access to inappropriate material and provide clear reporting mechanisms.
Though, Dr. Sadlier believes legislative measures alone aren’t enough. He advocates for a broader societal shift in how we approach smartphone use, drawing parallels to past public health campaigns around seatbelts and smoking.”Just because the current group of 12-year-olds have a mobile phone doesn’t mean the next group of 12-year-olds have to have one,” he argued.
The challenge, he suggests, lies in recognizing that adolescence is a transitional phase, and that societal norms around technology can be changed. it requires a collective effort – from parents to policymakers – to prioritize the well-being of young people in an increasingly digital world. The conversation isn’t about banning technology, but about fostering a healthier relationship with it, and acknowledging the potential for harm, even from sources that appear harmless on the surface.