- A new study has found that a significant amount of social media content about mental health is inaccurate.
- Researchers identified TikTok as the platform most associated with misleading mental health information
- Much of the content is based on personal anecdotes and simplified traits rather than clinical criteria
- Experts warn that this rise in misinformation may contribute to confusion, misdiagnosis, and delayed support
A new study, published in the Journal of Social Media Research, has found that a significant proportion of social media content about mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions may be misleading.
Researchers at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School reported that 52% of top-performing ADHD videos and 41% of autism-related videos on TikTok contained information that was inaccurate or not supported by current clinical evidence.
They found that social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter), are awash with misleading or unsubstantiated mental health content, and identified TikTok as the worst offender.
The study also found that videos were often based on personal anecdotes and simplified traits, rather than diagnostic criteria or professional guidance.
“Our work uncovered misinformation rates on social media as high as 56%. This highlights how easily engaging videos can spread widely online, even when the information isn’t always accurate,” Eleanor Chatburn, a Clinical Psychologist from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, and the senior author of the study, said in a press release.
“Social media has become an important place where many young people learn about mental health, but the quality of this information can vary greatly. This means that misleading content can circulate quickly, particularly if there aren’t accessible and reliable sources available.”
Darren O’Reilly, DPsych, CPsychol, HCPC, consultant psychologist and clinical director at AuDHD Psychiatry, said he isn’t surprised by these findings.
“I’m not surprised that social media, and TikTok in particular, seems prone to misinformation since it rewards fast, emotionally engaging and highly relatable content and not the careful, evidence-based and clinically accurate content,” he told Healthline.
O’Reilly was not involved in the study.
Part of the problem, he noted, is that this kind of content can feel hugely validating, even if it’s not accurate.
“TikTok does not reward being right. It rewards being relatable, confident, and easy to share,” he pointed out.
“With ADHD and autism in particular, people can recognise one small part of themselves in a video and mistake that recognition for proof. But short-form mental health content tends to flatten complex conditions into a few catchy traits, and that is where misinformation spreads fastest.”
As a result, O’Reilly said he often sees people arriving in the clinic with a strong self-diagnosis based on social media content, when the reality is often much more complex.