Social Media: When Autism Becomes Content

"But there's a line most platforms never tell you about: authenticity is only welcomed as long as it remains comfortable for the viewer. The moment honesty turns raw, whether by posting an unfiltered meltdown or when frustration spills instead of being captioned with a lesson, people recoil. They unfollow. They mute. They decide it's "too much." Not because it isn't real, but because it disrupts the illusion they were sold: that suffering should be educational, inspiring, or neatly resolved by the end of the reel."

"Autism especially gets filtered through this demand. Social media doesn't reward reality; it rewards legibility. It wants autism to be recognizable, repeatable, and aesthetically consistent. Something you can understand in under a minute, something that reassures you that you "get it." And so autism gets sanded down into traits, quirks, and lists in order to be digestible and palatable in an effort to garner the largest audience."

Social media has increased visibility for previously hidden experiences such as burnout, trauma, disability, and grief. Platforms and viewers accept authenticity only when it remains comfortable and palatable for the audience. Raw honesty and unfiltered moments provoke recoil, leading to unfollows, mutes, and labeling content as 'too much.' Autism is often compressed into recognizable, repeatable traits so content becomes legible in short formats. Flattening autism into lists and quirks misinforms outsiders and reinforces stereotypes and inequities. Genuine autistic experiences can include rage, grief, and breakdowns that do not fit tidy narratives or brand partnerships.

Read at Psychology Today