Teens Are Seeing Concerning Steroid Promo on TikTok, Report Finds

A new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate surfaced a troubling trend on TikTok. According to the findings released Sept. 28, U.S. TikTok users ages 18–24 watched videos with hashtags associated with steroids and other related substances up to 420 million times in the past three years. 

Many of these videos also contained hashtags like #teenfitness and #teenbodybuilding, likely as a way to reach the countless Gen Z users on the app. These clips often featured people with bulging muscles and promoted the use of certain substances while failing to emphasize the potential health risks and side effects of using steroids to achieve a bigger physique. A simple search shows just how prevalent they are, with boys as young as 14 years old flexing for the camera and thousands of strangers online. 

"Boys are being taught that they need to have really big muscles like Avengers to be a real man," Center for Countering Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed stated plainly. "Meanwhile, they are seeing this 'super serum' on TikTok that is touted to help them to achieve that without making them aware how incredibly harmful these drugs are."

TikTok has reported that 60 percent of its user base is between the ages of 16–24. With so many of its daily users being teenagers, the ubiquitous nature of these videos presents a concerning issue for parents looking to keep their children healthy. 

The TikTok fitness community doesn't shy away from speaking openly about steroids, despite the app's community guidelines barring content that promotes recreational drug use or the sale of drugs. The obsession with natural physiques versus ones aided by steroid use has created an entire genre of "natty or not" videos where people guess if bodybuilders have had some, shall we say, extra help in getting their bodies. 

Earlier this year, the FDA—which has never approved steroids for use—issued a warning about the use of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) among teens and young adults. These substances mimic the effects of testosterone and annabolic steroids but are often more easily available and even marketed by influencers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

"Social media posts by influencers and sellers of SARMs contribute to the availability and promotion of these dangerous products," the agency cautioned. "Targeting teenagers and young adults, videos on social media platforms tout SARMs as a quick or easy way to improve physical appearance, gain muscle mass, or increase athletic performance."

In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson TikTok criticized the underlying methodology of the report saying it conflated both negative and positive content on the topic. In response, a spokesperson for the Center for Countering Digital Hate said: "Our analysis only examined hashtags where a majority of content posted with those hashtags promotes, sells or otherwise normalizes use of steroids or steroid-like drugs."

If your kid wants to start hitting the gym more, you might want to ask why exactly they want to do so.