r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 16d ago

Neuroscience ADHD misinformation on TikTok is shaping young adults’ perceptions. An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to ADHD revealed that fewer than half the claims about symptoms actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.

https://news.ubc.ca/2025/03/adhd-misinformation-on-tiktok/
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u/Zedopotamus 16d ago

ironically, videos like this made me not want to get tested for ADHD even though it was very likely that I had it. I didn't want to go in and say "I saw on tiktok that adhd is..." and the symptoms to all be wrong. It took many negatives effects in my life (and a lot of research) before I realized I should get tested for anxiety, depression and ADHD. turns out, it was ADHD. These things just hurt people that actually have ADHD by having a negative stigma around it, which for ADHD is rough considering adderall is not the easiest thing to get prescribed and this threatens to make it tougher. I guess it will take a health professional going viral for certain misconceptions to be dispelled

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u/shawnisboring 16d ago

Similar trajectory, but with Autism instead of ADHD.

I teetered back and forth on whether to get an assessment or not thinking I was just being misled and gaslit by social media trends. I spent about 6 months researching before I finally felt there was enough substance there to justify the expense of an assessment and it turns out I am in fact autistic.

I'm of two minds with social media on this topic... it proved to me that increase awareness does help people (myself, at least), but there is so much misinformation out there. I'd say 90% of any autism related content was bunk, but it did lead me to more reputable content creators.

My biggest take-away from it all is that is was very eye-opening and illuminating to me to see what autism looks like IRL rather than severe cases from my childhood or hollywood autism. Seeing people like myself speak towards their condition helped me a lot in recontectualizing what it really looks like. The biggest risk in all this is self-diagnosis, which I feel is legitimate in many ways for people as there's no real treatment at least for autism, so what harm is there in self-diagnosing and trying to live a compatible life. But that doesn't extent to other conditions as readily and I feel people want to use it to absolve their behavior rather than legitimately understand themselves.

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u/ThatInAHat 16d ago

I was so anxious about seeming like I was being trendy was that the way I got diagnosed was by saying to my therapist “I don’t know why I have [common autistic problem]. It’s not like I’m autistic.”

To which she essentially said ok let’s put a pin in that and come back in a minute.

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u/kevinb9n 16d ago

I hope everyone in this boat today realizes that there's nothing wrong with going to see a professional and saying that stuff you found online is what made you suspect you might need their help. If it spurred you to seek help that's a good thing.

It's only taking an attitude of "I already KNOW it's my diagnosis no matter what you say" that should annoy them.

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u/666deleted666 16d ago

Absolutely nothing wrong with this. I’m in a demographic that gets underdiagnosed with ADHD, and as I got older, my symptoms became worse and harder to manage. I resonated with a lot of ADHD content on social media - so I took that to a professional. Told her what resonated and why.

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u/Zedopotamus 16d ago

I agree, having a healthy relationship with a professional where you can question these things is very important. I am very stupid and don't typically go to the doctor unless I'm having something negative in my life spur me to go (even then, it's hard for me to break habits like this), so it took me failing some grad school classes and struggling for me to get off my ass and see what was up. I suspect this is a common thing with people that have something un-diagnosed and aren't necessarily struggling (even though, you probably are). Also, I've grown up in an environment where everyone I've looked up to has just "gotten over it." Which isn't healthy at all and has taken a while to, somewhat, grow out of.

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u/catholicsluts 16d ago

It's only taking an attitude of "I already KNOW it's my diagnosis no matter what you say" that should annoy them.

That doesn't align with reality though. Do you think the odds of a doctor taking someone who cites what they saw online seriously is high enough to ignore that what you say here might be anything more than idealistic?

Even patients who take on that "i already know" attitude will back it up with what they saw online. Enough people do this for anyone to preemptively view something like "ChatGPT said ___" as a sign to not take them seriously.

It sucks for people who come in honestly and openly with their health and well-being in mind, but they should also know to prepare what they'll say with a bit more thought, like specific examples of how their own brain is holding them back in their day-to-day or professional lives.

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u/sentientcandle 16d ago

Yes, me too. For years I avoided getting tested for this exact reason. I thought there is no way I have it because I am not that debilitated that I am literally helpless. But I think those people just make it part of their personality & use it to justify and excuse their behavior. A LOT of people on social media and the wider internet romanticize ADHD/mental illness in a very unhealthy way.

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u/peelen 16d ago edited 16d ago

I didn't want to go in and say "I saw on tiktok that adhd is..."

There is nothing wrong with finding information on TikTok, the problem is if you stop there. This is exactly why you go to the doctor, so they can tell you if your problem is real or you just tripping.

By the way, TikTok is a surprisingly good tool in diagnosis, not because people there know what they are talking about (some do, some don't), but because the algorithm I super good at recognizing ADHD behavior patterns.

Go to the doctor, and tell them that Tiktok sent you there, and you don’t want to be a person who is tested only by Tiktok.

For me, it was r/adhdmemes that opened my eyes.

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u/catholicsluts 16d ago

the algorithm I super good at recognizing ADHD behavior patterns.

Source?

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u/Vagichu 16d ago

Or even better… Just look up ADHD on credible sources first and compare the symptoms. Tiktok isn’t the only place to learn about ADHD on the internet bro

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u/zefy_zef 16d ago

Literally the reason I haven't got tested.

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u/catholicsluts 16d ago

I didn't want to go in and say "I saw on tiktok that adhd is..."

Nor should you go in saying that tbh Most doctors would scoff at you for this. Not saying they're right or wrong for it, but it would just be you setting yourself up to not be taken seriously.

If you go in (you probably should, if that's accessible for you), say something that shows a little more introspection I guess