Self-improvement consists of making efforts to improve various traits such as health, appear- ance, efficiency, etc. Previous research has identified that popular culture is increasingly portraying aspects of self-improvement as obligations, as if they were moral requirements. This moralization can create stigmatization or be prejudicial when it fosters self-obsession and perfectionism (Coeckelbergh, 2022; Kraaijeveld Camacho-Mi˜nano Coeckelbergh, 2022). Due to the speed of information flow and norms diffusion on the internet, social media platforms are relevant spots to observe the transmission of self-improvement ideas (Puryear et al., 2025). The guiding research questions for the analyses are: (1) Is moral language present in discussions about self-improvement? (2) Are there specific topics within self- improvement discussions that tend to be framed with a higher moral tone? and (3) How is the use of moral language associated with emotions in the context of self-improvement? To answer these questions, data from the subreddit r/selfimprovement was analyzed us- ing the LIWC software, the Moral Foundations Dictionary, and MoralBERT. Furthermore, LDA topic modeling was utilized for uncovering topics and comparing moralization among them. Findings suggest that the r/selfimprovement subreddit contains higher moral lan- guage, particularly among social-related topics and health & fitness discussions. Moreover, content with higher moral language was found to show higher negative emotion and anger language, supporting previous work on the risks of moralization. However, results also suggest that engagement with moral ideas within self-improvement may not be as negative when approached from a reflective and thoughtful perspective.
Natasha Carpio Castellanos (2025) studied this question.