From 'Roid Rage' to TikTok Transformations: The New Pressure Pushing Teens Toward Steroids

In my early 20s, the weekend meant one thing: going out in New Jersey (sometimes New York City, a mere 45 minutes away). The early 2000s club scene — before the “Jersey Shore” turned it into a national spectacle — was already its own ecosystem. Guys wore tight T-shirts, gelled their hair, and spent serious time at the gym chasing bigger arms and more defined abs. Muscles weren’t just a look; they were a lifestyle.

In fact, when someone got overly aggressive, moody, or unpredictable, people would call it “roid rage.” Whether it was accurate or not, the idea that steroids were floating around that scene wasn’t surprising. The pressure to look bigger, stronger, and more buff was real.

Fast forward two decades, and that same pressure hasn’t disappeared. It’s just evolved.

Today, it doesn’t live in dimly lit clubs or late-night gyms. It lives on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube where teens scroll through extreme body transformation videos and “glow-ups” that promise dramatic results in months. And experts say some teens are now turning to steroids and other risky substances in pursuit of those physiques.

According to a recent report from CBS News, doctors are seeing teens experiment with powerful anabolic steroids, like trenbolone, a drug designed for livestock and never approved for humans. Pediatrician Dr. Jason Nagata told CBS News that these substances can damage the heart, liver, and kidneys, with some posing especially serious risks. The concern, experts say, is that social media is amplifying pressure to look muscular,  particularly among boys.

The Algorithm Makes It Hard to Escape

For years, body image conversations focused largely on girls. But increasingly, experts say boys are facing intense pressure — not to be thin, but to be muscular.

A 2025 study published in Body Image found that exposure to muscularity-focused social media content was associated with higher levels of muscle dysmorphia and greater interest in appearance-enhancing substances, including steroids. Researchers found that the more young men engaged with this content, the more likely they were to feel dissatisfied with their bodies.

Another 2026 study from Body Image examining social media engagement and steroid use intentions found that young men exposed to idealized muscular physiques online were more likely to consider anabolic-androgenic steroid use. This only highlights how online content may influence real-world health behaviors.

It’s not just that teens occasionally see this content. Unfortunately, they’re being fed it constantly on social media. 

A 2025 review in Pediatrics in Review found that TikTok’s algorithm can quickly begin recommending body-focused content to teens after minimal interaction, reinforcing appearance-based comparisons and unrealistic expectations.

That constant exposure can make extreme physiques feel normal and achievable, even when they’re not.

Warning Signs for Parents to Know

Experts say the warning signs may be subtle. According to the CBS News report, parents may want to watch for:

These behaviors don’t automatically mean steroid use though, but they can signal growing pressure around body image.

Looking back, the early 2000s New Jersey club scene feels almost quaint compared to today’s social media landscape. Back then, pressure came from your friend group, your gym, or the people in your town. Now, teens are comparing themselves to millions of people who may be filtered, edited, and enhanced by substances they don’t fully understand. So for me, the term “roid rage” might sound like a throwback, but I’m learning from these reports that the pressure behind it never really went away. It just went digital.