Ever found yourself three clicks deep in a TikTok explaining the therapeutic benefits of apple cider vinegar foot soaks? Or maybe you’ve heard a podcast host earnestly discuss the pros of placenta smoothies? Welcome to the wellness rabbit hole, where the Internet meets self-optimization, and things get weird.
Wellness used to mean “eat your vegetables” and maybe take a walk. But today it’s much more.
The early internet gave us chat forums, WebMD rabbit holes and the beginning of Google-fueled self-diagnosis. It’s also where diet culture thrived. The Atkins diet, South Beach, Master Cleanse—these regimens promised fast results and total body overhauls.
Blogs, YouTube tutorials and celeb interviews pushed the trend. Suddenly, anyone with a laptop could become a wellness leader.
This was the decade of optimization. Think Bulletproof coffee, intermittent fasting and quantified self-movements. Devices like Fitbits and smartwatches brought widespread availability to “wellness” data.
Reddit threads, podcast interviews and TED Talks created a cult of credibility around biohacking. YouTube became a lab bench for self-experimenters.
Wellness got a glow-up. Goop made luxury pseudoscience chic, with jade eggs and moon dust blends. Instagram became the gallery wall for wellness influencers, all avocado toast and morning routines.
Instagram aesthetics created aspiration. Pinterest boards promised “clean eating.” Wellness became less about health and more about aesthetics.
The conversation shifted from flat abs to brain fog. Psychedelic-assisted therapy, breathwork and trauma-informed practices started going mainstream. Mental health became part of the wellness conversation, not a separate track.
TikTok wellness isn’t subtle. It’s bold claims in under 60 seconds: raw carrot salad for hormones, dry brushing for lymph drainage, chlorophyll water for literally everything.
The algorithm. It doesn’t just surface trends, it engineers them. TikTok decides what your body, brain and bedtime routine need next.
Wellness today is a living, breathing thing, shaped by tech, culture and a constant stream of content. The internet didn’t invent wellness. But it did take it viral. It gave everyone a microphone, a megaphone and a platform to build their version of “better.”
Sometimes that means green juice. Sometimes that means mushroom therapy. And sometimes it just means logging off for a while.