Unveiling the Toxic World of #Meanspo: Understanding Users' Emerging Online Eating Disorder Practices in X/Twitter

DOI

Meanspo, an antagonistic form of online support within the eating disorder (ED) community, involves the direct solicitation or sharing of aggressive and insulting online content. This study presents findings from a comprehensive qualitative analysis of #meanspo content on X (previously Twitter) from May 2020 (N=752). Our analysis of tweets reveals that posts tagged with #meanspo can be of various natures. While commonly associated with extremely derogatory ED content, more than 80% of posts with the meanspo tag on X were non-aggressive. The study also explores potential inconsistencies in voluntary and involuntary meanspo specific content moderation, prompting inquiries into X's regulatory policies against such content and the distinct online self-presentation strategies employed by community members. Future contextual research is needed to understand the evolving nature of this social phenomenon and its potential clinical impacts on users over time, particularly concerning the unhealthy adoption of such content. TRIGGER WARNING: Explicit language & potentially triggering content.