ADHD misinformation on TikTok is shaping young adults’ perceptions
University of British Columbia
The most popular ADHD-related content on TikTok often does not match mental health professionals’ views, potentially influencing how young adults perceive the disorder, a new University of B.C. study has found.
An analysis of the 100 most-viewed TikTok videos related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) revealed that fewer than half the claims regarding symptoms made in those videos actually align with clinical guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.
"TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness and reducing stigma, but it also has a downside," said Vasileia Karasavva, lead author of the study published today in PLOS One and a PhD student in clinical psychology. "Anecdotes and personal experiences are powerful, but when they lack context, they can lead to misunderstandings about ADHD and mental health in general."
In the videos, many TikTok creators shared personal experiences without indicating that they don’t necessarily apply to everyone with ADHD, and might even occur for people who don’t have the disorder. This lack of nuance may lead viewers to misinterpret symptoms or incorrectly diagnose themselves.
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders diagnosed in childhood, and often continues into adulthood. It is characterized by having difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour. It is estimated to affect about three to seven per cent of adults worldwide.
How TikTok influences perceptions
The study found that the more ADHD-related TikTok content a young adult consumes, the more likely they are to overestimate both the prevalence and severity of ADHD symptoms in the general population. Participants who watched more of this content were also more likely to recommend the videos—despite the unreliability of the information.
Researchers had two clinical psychologists evaluate the top 100 most-viewed TikTok videos under the hashtag #ADHD for accuracy, nuance and overall quality. Then, 843 undergraduate students were surveyed about their TikTok habits and asked to rate 10 videos: the five highest-rated and five lowest-rated by the psychologists.
The results showed a clear difference in how each group assessed the content:
- Clinical psychologists gave the more accurate ADHD videos an average rating of 3.6 out of five, while young adults gave them 2.8.
- The psychologists rated the least reliable videos at 1.1 out of five. Young adults rated them significantly higher at 2.3.
This suggests that misinformation may be slipping through unnoticed by most young people.
The need for professional engagement on social media
Clinical psychologists and other mental health professionals could play a more active role in TikTok discussions around ADHD, the researchers say. By providing expert-backed content, they could help counter misinformation and ensure young people have access to reliable resources.
“Some young adults turn to TikTok because of access barriers, or negative experiences they have had with mental health professionals,” said Dr. Amori Mikami, a professor of psychology at UBC and the study’s senior author. “It is also our responsibility to address equity gaps in who can see a psychologist.”
A balanced approach to ADHD information
The study underscores the importance of seeking professional guidance when considering an ADHD diagnosis. While TikTok can be a valuable tool for community building, it should not replace evidence-based resources. The researchers advise young adults to:
- Cross check TikTok information with reputable sources such as medical websites, books and healthcare professionals.
- See doctors, therapists or university mental health services for guidance on ADHD and other concerns.
- Consider whether stress, anxiety or cognitive overload could be contributing to difficulties before assuming you have ADHD.
Interview language(s): English, Greek (Karasavva)
Journal
PLOS One
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD
Article Publication Date
19-Mar-2025
Study of top 100 ADHD TikToks finds significant misinformation about symptoms
Psychologists differ from young adult viewers in their perceptions of ADHD content on TikTok
image:
Hashtag word cloud.
view moreCredit: Karasavva et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
In a new analysis, fewer than half of claims about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in popular TikTok videos aligned with clinical standards, with young adults’ perceptions of the informational value of the videos differing from those of psychologists. Vasileia Karasavva of the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on March 19, 2025.
Young adults increasingly use social media platforms such as TikTok as key sources of support and education about ADHD. While these platforms have powerful potential to benefit users interested in such content, they may also help to spread misinformation. However, few studies have examined the ADHD content encountered by social media users and how they interact with it. Karasavva and colleagues therefore assessed ADHD-related content on TikTok and compared how it is perceived by professionals versus young adults.
First, two of the researchers—both clinical psychologists and ADHD experts—assessed the content of the 100 most popular TikTok videos with the #ADHD hashtag. They found that fewer than half of the videos’ claims about ADHD symptoms were in accord with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which is used by clinicians worldwide to diagnose mental disorders.
Next, the researchers asked 843 undergraduate students about their TikTok #ADHD viewing habits and their perceptions of TikTok videos previously ranked by the psychologists as the five they would be most likely to recommend as ADHD psychoeducation and the five they would be least likely to recommend.
Students either formally or self-diagnosed with ADHD reported watching #ADHD TikToks more frequently than students without ADHD. After statistically accounting for diagnosis and student demographics, the researchers found that students who watched #ADHD TikToks more frequently were more likely to say they would, themselves, recommend both the top- and bottom-five psychologist-ranked videos.
The researchers describe this study as a starting point for research exploring how ADHD is portrayed on TikTok. A better understanding of the discrepancies they identified between psychologists’ and young adults’ perceptions could help inform efforts to better serve people with ADHD.
The authors add: “TikToks about ADHD are very popular among young adults, however, often they do not match the scientific literature about ADHD. Additionally, people who consumed a large amount of ADHD-related TikToks also tended to overestimate ADHD's prevalence by as much as ten times and think more negatively about their own symptoms.”
In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/41wlXvt
Citation: Karasavva V, Miller C, Groves N, Montiel A, Canu W, Mikami A (2025) A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD. PLoS ONE 20(3): e0319335. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319335
Author countries: Canada, US
Funding: The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.
Journal
PLOS One
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD
Article Publication Date
19-Mar-2025
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