Where do you get your medical advice? Your doctor? TV? This program? How about TikTok? The social media platform has become an increasingly popular place for people to watch short videos about medical conditions and treatments. Given that 86% of Americans in the past year have turned to online platforms for medical advice instead of consulting with a healthcare professional, the potential for harm is significant.
Researchers at the University of Chicago recently published a study in which they systematically analyzed health information on TikTok and found that nearly half of the videos they analyzed contained non-factual information, with a large proportion of misleading videos coming from nonmedical influencers.
Misinformation in online medical content can cause people to adopt unsafe practices or avoid seeking proper medical attention. For example, a 2024 article published in Clinical Insights in Eyecare reported the case of a college student who suffered solar retinopathy, lost vision from looking at the sun, after following “sungazing” advice on TikTok.
An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, encourages social media users to protect themselves by thinking critically about the content viewed, asking themselves if the creator referred to scientific evidence from reputable sources and fact-checking information using reliable sources like Mayo Clinic and the World Health Organization.
Resources:
https://biologicalsciences.uchicago.edu/news/health-information-tiktok
https://www.tebra.com/theintake/healthcare-reports/medical/misleading-medical-advice-on-tiktokhttps://clinicalinsightsineyecare.scholasticahq.com/article/123720-case-report-solar-retinopathy-secondary-to-the-viral-tik-tok-trend-sungazing
https://www.dw.com/en/tiktok-health-traps-how-influencers-give-you-bad-advice/a-71773131
