‘Eating disorders start on TikTok’: Ad campaign takes social media to task in the most subversive way
I was walking down the street with my partner in London’s Camden neighborhood on Wednesday night when we saw an ad that said, “This app was designed to keep you hooked.”
A finger could be seen tapping Instagram’s app icon above a claim reading, “45% of teens say they spend too much time on social media.”
In theory, this was all straightforward messaging, but the ad’s final note in the corner threw us: “From Meta,” logo and all.
We turned to each other in confusion, trying to make sense of it. The ad looked so professionally designed that we wondered, could Meta Platforms, a company that has repeatedly denied responsibility for its users’ mental health, be advertising it?
No. In short, Instagram and Facebook’s parent company has done nothing of the sort. Instead, the ad is from Just Treatment, a U.K.-based health justice group started in 2017.
The organization’s latest campaign is Mad Youth Organise, a push to improve accessible, quality mental health care for young people.
The “ad” we saw was one of eight that activists have plastered guerrilla-style across London, Just Treatment told Fast Company.
A similar design to the one we saw features a photo of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg smiling. “If you feel worse, it’s working,” it says.
Other ads are plastered with statements such as “Our anxiety is exploited by Meta” and “We’re more lonely with Meta.” Each includes a statistic to back up these claims.
The campaign launched Wednesday and included a group of young people blocking Meta’s London office with another ad that bluntly stated: “The youth mental health crisis, sponsored by Meta.”
The individuals involved in the protest believe social media has “pushed them into mental health crisis,” according to Mad Youth Organise.
Young activists who’ve lived with adverse mental health have run and designed the entire campaign, Just Treatment says.
Alongside Meta, Mad Youth Organise has also targeted TikTok. One sign reads, “Eating disorders start on TikTok,” while another says, “Misery starts on TikTok.”
Both also cite a statistic claiming 46% of teens feel social media makes them have a worse body image.
Fast Company has reached out to Meta and TikTok for comment. We will update this post if we hear back.
What does the Mad Youth Organise campaign want?
Mad Youth Organise is pushing for a “Big Tech Tax,” a 4% tax on tech companies earning over £500 million ($663 million) globally.
The money raised would be put toward funding youth mental health services. It’s also insisting that Big Tech’s social media monopoly be severed, among other demands.
How bad is social media for young people?
It’s no secret that social media has been shown to cause adverse effects. A high-profile social media trial in the U.S. held closing arguments on Thursday: TikTok, Meta, YouTube, and Snap have been accused of knowingly designing products that are both addictive and harmful to young people’s mental health.
These social media companies have all taken the same approach to these accusations: Deny. Deny. Deny.
TikTok and Snap previously settled with the plaintiff, identified only by her initials KGM. She claims that early social media use made her addicted to technology and exacerbated her depression and suicidal thoughts.
However, this is the first of a consolidated group of cases for over 1,600 plaintiffs, including families and school districts.
Research has consistently found evidence of social media’s harm to young people’s mental health.
A 2025 survey from Pew Research found that 48% of U.S. teens aged 13 to 17 believe social media sites have a mostly negative effect on their age group. This figure is a significant jump from the 32% who felt the same in a 2022 survey.
Participants also listed social media as the most negative influence on teen mental health (22%), higher than bullying (17%), pressure and expectations (16%) and school (5%).
Young Minds, a U.K.-based charity for young people’s mental health, reports that 34% of young people feel trapped on social media sites. Meanwhile, 22% report receiving distressing content on social media at least weekly.