Our digital landscape, while offering connection, has become a fertile ground for the proliferation of toxic beauty standards and body image abuse. This isn't a superficial issue; it inflicts deep psychological harm (eroding self-esteem, contributing to anxiety and depression), fosters social anxieties, and often reflects and amplifies socio-political and cultural biases, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities.

Social media platforms, as complex socio-technical systems, can inadvertently perpetuate these harms through algorithmic content curation, the rapid spread of trends, and by providing spaces where negative interactions can escalate. The challenge lies in how these platforms often struggle to recognise and mitigate the nuanced, context-dependent nature of this abuse.