Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder usually diagnosed in childhood that can continue into adulthood. Young people struggling with attention difficulties in school or at home sometimes turn to social media platforms such as TikTok for information about and support for what they believe might be ADHD.

The problem is most TikTok videos with the #ADHD hashtag contain information inconsistent with clinical standards for diagnosing ADHD, a Canadian study finds. Although social media play a role in community-building, they should not replace evidence-based resources, the researchers warn.

Students who watched more #ADHD videos overestimated the prevalence and severity of ADHD symptoms in the general population.

“TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness and erasing stigma,” Vasileia Karasavva, lead author on the study, said in a statement. It does, unfortunately, also have a downside — it can be very narrow and one-dimensional.

In their videos, many creators share personal experiences with having ADHD. They did not, however, explain that their experiences may not apply to everyone or that they could happen to people without the disorder. Without this context, young people watching the videos could misdiagnose themselves or misinterpret their symptoms based on one person's recounting of their experience.

“Anecdotes and personal experiences are powerful, but when they lack context, they can lead to misunderstandings about ADHD and mental health in general,” said Karasavva, a graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of British Columbia.

The researchers ran two studies. In the first study, two clinical psychologists with expertise in ADHD evaluated claims about ADHD symptoms made in the 100 most popular TikTok videos with the hashtag #ADHD. They found less than 50 percent of the claims in these videos were supported by the criterial laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by mental health professionals.

In the second study, 843 undergraduate students — 224 of whom had no ADHD diagnosis; 421 of whom were self-diagnosed with ADHD; and 198 who had received a formal ADHD diagnosis — were asked how often they watch #ADHD TikTok videos. Unsurprisingly, students who were formally diagnosed with ADHD and those who diagnosed themselves were more likely to watch #ADHD videos than those who were not diagnosed.

The students also watched the top five and bottom five psychologist-rated videos from the first study and answered questions about what they thought of the ADHD information in these videos.

When the team compared the students' perceptions of the accuracy of the information in these videos to psychologists' perceptions, they were very different.

The videos providing the least accurate information got a 1.1 rating out of 5 by the psychologists, while the students gave the videos a significantly higher rating of 2.3.

The psychologists gave the five videos providing the most accurate information about ADHD an average rating of 3.5 out of 5, while the students gave these videos an average rating of 2.8. The videos providing the least accurate information got a 1.1 rating out of 5 by the psychologists, while the students gave the videos a significantly higher rating of 2.3.

Students who watched more #ADHD videos were more likely to recommend both the top- and bottom-rated videos, even though the bottom-ranked video information was unreliable. Those who consumed a lot of content also overestimated the prevalence and severity of ADHD symptoms in the general population.

The findings highlight the important role of mental health professionals play in diagnosing and treating ADHD, the researchers say.

Young people will turn to social media posts for information, but the researchers advise young people looking for answers to:

  • Cross check information on social media with reputable sources such as the American Psychological Association and other health organization websites, books and healthcare providers.
  • Seek help from mental health professionals at campus mental health services, doctors and therapists for ADHD and other issues.
  • Avoid diagnosing themselves with ADHD. Stress and anxiety or mental exhaustion can all contribute to the attention problems they are having.

It would also help if clinical psychologists and other mental health experts with expertise in attention issues joined more TikTok discussions about ADHD as reliable sources of information, said the researchers.

“Some young adults turn to TikTok because of access barriers,” said Amori Mikami, senior author on the study. Mikami, a professor of psychology at the University off British Columbia, went on to say, “It is also our responsibility to address equity gaps in who can see a psychologist.”

The study is published in PLOS One.