Alarming study on Tiktok Half of the videos about ADHD contain misinformation
Celebrities are coming out of the closet, people are increasingly looking for self-tests online: More and more people suspect they have ADHD. How are Tiktok videos influencing this trend?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- According to a study, around half of the 100 most-watched videos on ADHD contained incorrect information.
- The researchers did not classify any of the videos as definitely recommendable.
- Internet videos encouraged users to believe that they themselves have ADHD.
- ADHD is linked to a disturbed metabolism in the brain.
- Up to 3 percent of the population have ADHD.
- Symptoms of the mental disorder include inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Of the almost 100 most viewed Tiktok videos on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), around half contained incorrect information, as reported by a research team in the specialist journal "PLOS One". According to the study, young people with self-diagnosed ADHD in particular significantly overestimate the prevalence of the disorder in the population - and are reinforced in their assumption that they have ADHD by the videos.
ADHD is linked to a disturbed metabolism of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. According to current research, heredity plays the biggest role. The mental disorder is characterized by three main symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. They can occur in varying degrees and combinations. The first ADHD problems can already be observed in infancy. They become clearly recognizable at the age of five to six.
Two to three percent of the population have ADHD
Medical science assumes that a constant 2 to 3 percent of the population have ADHD. The number is not increasing, but awareness of the disorder is apparently rising, as shown by the increased search for self-tests on the internet. Many people obtain information primarily via social media such as Tiktok. Alongside #autism, #ADHD is one of the ten most frequently used health-related hashtags.
The team led by Vasileia Karasavva from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver has now looked at 98 particularly popular Tiktok videos on ADHD. These English-language clips were around 40 seconds long on average and had a total of almost half a billion views. Half of the video creators promoted the purchase of certain products such as workbooks, fidget spinners or coaching services or asked for donations.
Often misleading, rarely useful
Two psychologists assessed the accuracy of the content. They classified 52% of the videos as misleading, only 21% as useful - and not a single one as definitely recommendable. Accordingly, 92 of the 98 videos focused exclusively on statements about ADHD symptoms such as "My ADHD makes me do this", not treatment options. A good half of the statements about symptoms were assessed by the psychologists as not being ADHD-related - instead, they predominantly depicted normal human experiences, with some symptoms being more typical of other disorders.
Where treatment options were given, they were mostly based on personal experience. "Anecdotes and personal experiences are very powerful, but when context is missing, they can lead to misconceptions about ADHD and mental health in general," Karasavva explained.
ADHD prevalence overestimated by a factor of about ten
In a second series of tests, a good 800 students aged between 18 and 25 were shown the five best and worst rated videos from the first analysis. These included young men and women - some without and some with an official or self-diagnosis of ADHD. In general, the better videos were rated as better. It was striking that the prevalence of ADHD in the population was extremely overestimated at around 33%. This was particularly the case for people with self-diagnosed ADHD. The videos also reinforced their assumption that they themselves have ADHD.
Social media is a key source of information on health issues, said Kathrin Karsay from the University of Vienna, who was not involved in the study. However, the algorithms there prefer posts that are particularly entertaining or emotionalize and thus ensure a lot of interaction. The fact that the symptoms are portrayed incorrectly or exaggerated is not surprising; similar findings are also found for other diseases such as Tourette's syndrome or prostate cancer.
Trivializing representation
"On Tiktok, ADHD sufferers are often portrayed as lively, lovable and almost entertaining - a 'cute disorder' that is presented in short, humorous clips," says Karsay. Much of the content showed everyday situations and relied on entertaining narratives. "This creates a positive, sometimes trivializing, romanticized image of the disorder."
A positive aspect is that young adults apparently reflect critically on the content and also rate videos rated as bad by experts worse on average, said communication scientist Paula Stehr from the University of Augsburg, who was also not involved in the study. It is worrying that false symptoms are so often reported and that there is hardly any information on how to deal with ADHD.
More experts at Tiktok would be desirable
"In order to meet the high demand for information from those affected, well-founded content must be easily accessible," says Stehr. More contributions from experts would be desirable on platforms such as Tiktok. "This way, information can be made available where young adults are in their everyday media use." At the moment, verified platforms such as "gesundheitsinformation.de" are particularly recommended for information.
