April 4-6, 2024 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Innovations in Health Communication
Innovations in Health Communication
Abstract: ADHD Information in TikTok Videos: Accuracy and Exaggeration
Adult diagnosis of Attention/Deficit-Hyperactivity/Disorder (ADHD) is on the rise in the United States, particularly among college students (Antshel et al., 2023). Discussion of the condition is rampant on social media, with 77% of college students indicating they have encountered ADHD content on social media (Authors, 2022).
Social media is a source for health-related information (Prybutok and Ryan, 2015), and young people are increasingly using TikTok to seek information (Huang, 2022), which is increasing featuring health information (Song, et al., 2021), although the quality of that information is questionable (Afful-Dadzie, Afful-Dadzie, & Egala, 2023). The present research investigated the quality of ADHD information in TikTok videos.
Method
A content analysis of 50 TikTok videos discussing ADHD compared the information to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. We entered “ADHD” in the search bar on the desktop version of TikTok and included the first 50 videos with over 1 million views. Data captured included the number of views as of September 28, 2023, number of likes, the date the video was posted, and the length of the video. Content coding identified the number of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria discussed and if the video exaggerated the diagnostic criteria. Such exaggerations took the form of dramatizations of ADHD symptoms that appeared overstated or overblown.
Results
The 50 videos were an average of 24 seconds long and had been viewed a total of 265 million times, for an average of 5.3 million views per video. The videos generated an average of over 6,000 comments each, suggesting that these videos are in wide circulation and have engaged viewers. 28% of videos focused on a single diagnostic criterion, most commonly focusing on disorganization, distractibility, and inability to follow through with tasks. Only 4% of videos mentioned more than one symptom. Our coding indicated that 68% portrayed an exaggerated view of the challenges of living with ADHD. Clear misinformation, in the form of describing behaviors as indicators of ADHD that are not one of the DSM5 diagnostic criteria, was present in 68% of the videos. These included mentions of clumsiness and internal dialogue.
Discussion
Based on our analysis, it appears that people using TikTok to gain information about ADHD would learn that single criteria such as disorganization or not following through with tasks are definitive evidence of ADHD. The majority of videos provide an exaggerated view of the prevalence of the disorder. A cursory view of the comments posted to the videos suggested that viewers interpreted the videos as evidence that the viewers themselves have ADHD. Although the DSM-5 requires the presence of 5 different symptoms for an ADHD diagnosis, no video talked about the required number of symptoms required for a diagnosis, or even that a diagnosis required more than one symptom. We are concerned that these videos exaggerate the prevalence of and difficulty of coping with ADHD among viewers.
Social media is a source for health-related information (Prybutok and Ryan, 2015), and young people are increasingly using TikTok to seek information (Huang, 2022), which is increasing featuring health information (Song, et al., 2021), although the quality of that information is questionable (Afful-Dadzie, Afful-Dadzie, & Egala, 2023). The present research investigated the quality of ADHD information in TikTok videos.
Method
A content analysis of 50 TikTok videos discussing ADHD compared the information to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. We entered “ADHD” in the search bar on the desktop version of TikTok and included the first 50 videos with over 1 million views. Data captured included the number of views as of September 28, 2023, number of likes, the date the video was posted, and the length of the video. Content coding identified the number of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria discussed and if the video exaggerated the diagnostic criteria. Such exaggerations took the form of dramatizations of ADHD symptoms that appeared overstated or overblown.
Results
The 50 videos were an average of 24 seconds long and had been viewed a total of 265 million times, for an average of 5.3 million views per video. The videos generated an average of over 6,000 comments each, suggesting that these videos are in wide circulation and have engaged viewers. 28% of videos focused on a single diagnostic criterion, most commonly focusing on disorganization, distractibility, and inability to follow through with tasks. Only 4% of videos mentioned more than one symptom. Our coding indicated that 68% portrayed an exaggerated view of the challenges of living with ADHD. Clear misinformation, in the form of describing behaviors as indicators of ADHD that are not one of the DSM5 diagnostic criteria, was present in 68% of the videos. These included mentions of clumsiness and internal dialogue.
Discussion
Based on our analysis, it appears that people using TikTok to gain information about ADHD would learn that single criteria such as disorganization or not following through with tasks are definitive evidence of ADHD. The majority of videos provide an exaggerated view of the prevalence of the disorder. A cursory view of the comments posted to the videos suggested that viewers interpreted the videos as evidence that the viewers themselves have ADHD. Although the DSM-5 requires the presence of 5 different symptoms for an ADHD diagnosis, no video talked about the required number of symptoms required for a diagnosis, or even that a diagnosis required more than one symptom. We are concerned that these videos exaggerate the prevalence of and difficulty of coping with ADHD among viewers.