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/chromegreen 16d ago

A more interesting study would be surveying 100 medical professionals about adult ADHD testing because I bet a significant portion of them would say something that other professionals would consider misleading. At least a handful of them would likely insist adult ADHD doesn't exist or can't be debilitating enough alone to warrant specific treatment. I get it, tiktok bad, but this is low hanging fruit.

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u/Sat9Official 16d ago

would likely insist adult ADHD doesn't exist or can't be debilitating enough

What ? I dont live in the US. Is that a serious oppinion by professionals there?

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u/olivebrown 16d ago

I'm in Australia and I wouldn't say it's common but anecdotally I know of a few professionals who are reluctant to prescribe medication to adults with ADHD because we aren't at school and therefore 'don't need it anymore'.

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u/Fussel2107 16d ago

My psychiatrist tried to tell me that I don't need meds because I had already developed so many successful coping mechanism and had my life together. Until I explained the reality in a lot of strong words.

Props to her, she eventually did put me on meds.

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u/hamchan_ 16d ago

If you go on r/adhd there are plenty of people who get dismissed because they were too successful to be diagnosed with adhd.

  • they have never been fired
  • they graduated high school
  • they graduated post secondary

So they couldn’t possibly have adhd.

Personally? I’ve never had any of those issues but my father and brother (very genetic) were diagnosed with ADHD. I wasn’t diagnosed until 30 and meds make such a difference. (Women couldn’t have ADHD in the 90s)

The whole diagnosis process is a mess.

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u/tapdancingtoes 16d ago

My university doesn’t allow accommodations for ADHD unless you have a history of poor grades and you have to submit your middle and high school transcripts to the department for them to consider you for accommodations. A clinical diagnosis is also not enough to be considered eligible for accommodations. It’s insane

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u/Tizzy8 16d ago

Ironically getting good grades in high school on a 504 would be evidence for the efficacy of accommodations.

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u/karosea 16d ago

I've been in this thread going on about all of it and raging.

I have ADHD. Was undiagnosed until I figured it out myself at 25. Prior to that though;

I graduated high-school with a 3.75gpa. Got a B.A in psych with a 3.8gpa Masters in School Counseling with a 4.0gpa.

Pre diagnosis.

Now I am back in school and on track to finish my Masters in Social Work at the end of the year and get my LSW and work my way to an LISW.

Many many people are successful before being diagnosed. I will say that I feel personally I would have been much MORE successful in all areas of my life, including my relationships, had I been diagnosed earlier in life. I divorced my ex at 29 after 12 years, for a lot of reasons but I'll admit my undiagnosed ADHD in hindsight caused a lot of problems from my side of things.

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u/karosea 16d ago

There are professionals who won't diagnosed ADHD if you don't struggle in school as a kid. I have ADHD as bad as anyone and yet graduated high-school with a 3.75, got a BA in Psych with a 3.8 and then got a masters in school counseling with a 4.0 before I ever figured out I had ADHD. Then once I figured it out and started taking medication I spent the next year raging internally that I had been doing life on hard mode basically and felt I could have been significantly MORE successful had I been diagnosed earlier.

The US has a giant problem with professional misconceptions on ADHD.

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u/Eihe3939 16d ago

Of course, anyone could be more productive with amphetamine

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u/Fussel2107 16d ago

Yep. That's how crystal meth works. Makes people more productive

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u/Eihe3939 16d ago

And the same goes for adhd medication. They literally make everyone more productive. I know a lot of people don’t like hearing that but it doesn’t make that fact go away not to talk about it. I wait for the day adhd could be measured and not just based on answering questions. Anyone can do that

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u/kelcamer 16d ago

Yes, it absolutely is.

My doctor believes people can't be autistic if they have friends.

I seriously wish I was kidding.

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u/QaraKha 16d ago

I went to three separate doctors because I thought I had ADHD. I just wanted to know "Am I just lazy like everyone has always told me, or is there something here?"

Two doctors told me adult ADHD "wasn't a thing worth treating" because the most often presentation is something who so heavily covers it up via masking that they're capable of existing.

Like, this is anecdotes, but the doctors are out there. And even in this very thread, too.

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u/False_Ad3429 16d ago

Unfortunately yes, many professionals don't know any more about adhd than the average person on the street. I always tell people to seek out someone who specializes in adhd specifically to get diagnosed, preferably someone who specializes in high masking people, because they are more likely to catch symptoms that go overlooked. 

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u/Sat9Official 16d ago

That's really sad to hear. Masking is such a huge part of having ADHD as an adult (at least for me). It's not served me well regarding my health and anxiety and I'm trying to find new ways to be who I am. I could see a lot of people going under the radar if the person doing the diagnosing doesnt have enough knowledge in the field.

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u/Tizzy8 16d ago

The people I know who have encountered it are British (specifically English).

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u/Drone30389 16d ago

I get it, tiktok bad, but this is low hanging fruit.

It's worse than that. I don't think the study even states what the actual errors are, just that the professionals rated videos better or worse. Many professionals have really bad understanding of ADHD and other neurological conditions, so far all we know there are times when the tiktok people are right and the doctors are wrong (not to imply that tiktokers aren't often wrong or that doctors are always wrong).

The study brings up some good points but more in the form of discussion than actual facts (like what amounts to "tiktokers should point out that specific symptoms aren't universal" - true).

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u/jonathot12 16d ago

i mean, why would you ask a medical professional about a mental health issue? that’s like asking your vehicle mechanic to fix your water heater. it’s well studied that PCP physicians diagnose mental health conditions at their own whim, often neglecting to even consider DSM criteria.

we need to stop allowing doctors with minimal clinical mental health training or experience to diagnose mental health disorders. you’d see a lot of these rates and numbers change overnight.

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u/ashinthealchemy 16d ago

this is interesting. i bet the 100 medical professionals would make differing diagnoses as well. i remember seeing something similar in the forensic odontology community - they disagreed on their findings a huge percentage of the time. and that seems much more cut and dry.

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u/Eihe3939 16d ago

Adhd is over diagnosed now. Until there is a clear way to measure it, it will be really hard to determine who has ir