r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 17d 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/
27.8k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/JeffieSandBags 17d ago

I'm sorry. What were they evidence for?

-1

u/[deleted] 17d ago edited 17d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/JeffieSandBags 17d ago

I'm trying to make a fine point here. First, that your experience is 100% valid. Second, online discussions can't capture real complex issues. And the framing of your response implies these behaviors are associated with ADHD by virtue of them being ADHD coping skills.

I bet many people would read that and identity with some, many, one, all of those and then start to think of the diagnosis and themselves as having similarities. It's like a slippery slope. It's also normal for us to do that, as anyone who was ever interested in their abnormal psychology class. Self diagnosis is a reflex for people curious about people, the mind, mental health, etc. 

If those are how you masked ADHD, then if I do them I might be masking myself. That's the thought crossing minds as people scroll these (really interesting and personal) comments.