By: Hayley Strahs

Local Editor 

With dark humor at an all-time high, social media has blurred the line between comedy and hate speech, specifically regarding plus-size people. Instagram Reels, Meta’s short-form video platform, is notorious for their lax comment moderation, leading thousands of users—including parents—to turn off comments completely. Recently, researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated that “cyberbullying increased the risk of thoughts of suicide and attempts,” in children ages fourteen to eighteen. However, what makes weight-related bullying especially dangerous is the notion that leaving hurtful remarks will motivate plus-size creators to lose weight, leading commenters to justify their actions under the guise of providing help.

Obesity is a pertinent struggle in the United States. In 2023, heart disease was the number one cause of death for Americans, and obesity raises the likelihood of it by 32 percent. However, “I’m just looking out for their health” still is not a valid reason to bully someone for their weight. Medical professionals diagnose obesity using body mass index (BMI), which does not account for body fat concentration and muscle density, explaining why BMI has absurdly (or inaccurately or infamously) classified many Olympic athletes as obese. In addition, dismal obesity statistics are all over the news, making weight loss a sensitive issue for many. It is unlikely that someone with a hazardous case of obesity would remain unaware of their condition. Healthy weight loss can and does often take years and requires a total lifestyle transformation, making it nearly impossible to determine the actions an individual might be taking in their own life from watching one short video. All it takes is one mean remark to crush someone’s motivation for weight loss, which will probably do them more harm than good.

Recently, mukbang YouTube star Nicholas Perry, known online as Nikocado Avocado, took it upon himself to create a social experiment regarding the treatment of overweight people online—or so people think. On Sep. 6, Perry posted a video entitled Two Steps Ahead in which he revealed that he prerecorded two years’ worth of YouTube videos and in that time, lost 250 pounds for a “social experiment.” During those two years, fans of the Nikocado Avocado YouTube channel have insensitively bashed Perry for his weight, unaware of the fact that he was hard at work diligently losing hundreds of pounds. Whether or not he lost the weight naturally or through surgery, it is impossible to deny that dropping 250 pounds requires a serious lifestyle shift. The details of Perry’s “social experiment” remain unknown, but many fans speculate that his goal was to compare how the internet treats skinny people and overweight people differently.

It is impossible to know every detail about someone’s life, and what may be going on behind the scenes. Weight-related remarks, even simple “advice,” have a greater propensity to decimate motivation rather than improve it. Instead of ruining a social media user’s self-confidence, simply scroll away.

(Sources: Healthline, John Hopkins Medicine, National Institutes of Health, University of Rochester, US News)