Society

Tia Johal

How Unrealistic Beauty Standards on TikTok Impact the Mental Health of Female Users

A headshot of a smiling young woman with medium skin tone and long, dark, curly hair. She has a nose piercing on her right nostril, natural eye makeup, and light pink lipstick. She is wearing a black one-shoulder top and a gold necklace with an initial pendant, set against a plain light grey background.

Tia Johal is a fourth year Professional Communications student pursuing a minor in News Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is planning to continue her bachelor’s degree aiming to graduate in 2027. Throughout her studies in Professional Communications, she has learned to advance her written, creative and communication skills. With a strong passion for public relations, news and storytelling. Also, gaining a profound interest in radio while presenting current popular culture news to audiences at MetRadio during her free time. She strives to pursue a career where she can connect, innovate and advocate meaningful stories to the public. 



This capstone project investigates the reinforcement of unrealistic beauty standards on TikTok and how it can impact the mental health of female users. It addresses the wider concerns that become apparent while users are faced with unrealistic beauty standards. It frames the dominant role TikTok plays in showcasing idealist beauty expectations. Leading female users to view them as societal beauty norms. These narrow beauty standards that do not comply with diverse feminine beauty. Exposure to these unrealistic beauty standards causes negative detrimental effects to the psychological and mental health of female users. 


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