US EditionTikTok fuels ADHD self-diagnosis with misleading content, study shows
- A new study published in PLOS ONE on Mar 25 2025, reveals that many of the 100 most viewed TikTok videos about ADHD contain details that do not align with clinical guidelines, raising concerns that young people may falsely diagnose themselves based on this information.
- ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder impacting focus, organization, and self-control, with symptoms potentially affecting academic, occupational, emotional, and physical health, as well as relationships.
- With social media becoming increasingly popular, especially among Gen Z and Millennials , and two out of five Americans preferring TikTok over traditional search engines, the lack of quality control on these platforms increases the risk of misinformation about ADHD and other conditions.
- According to Charles Sweet, a board-certified psychiatrist and medical advisor for Linear Health, viral videos often promote relatable symptoms but these are not clinical indicators of ADHD on their own, while Daniel Huy, a child psychologist with Hackensack University Medical Center, notes that ADHD symptoms overlap with normal stress and other mental health issues, making psychiatric diagnoses nuanced.
- Experts, including Jessica McCarthy , emphasize that self-tests and social media content cannot replace professional evaluations, as clinicians consider a person's whole life and can differentiate ADHD from other conditions like anxiety, depression, or learning disabilities, which require different treatment approaches, and also consider family history.
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Sydney Morning HeraldReposted by 
Brisbane Times
Brisbane TimesHow the pandemic prompted a surge in adult ADHD diagnoses
Everything changed in 2020. Millions of Australians found themselves stuck inside – just as an ecosystem of ADHD content creators was flourishing on social media.
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Adults with ADHD: «I felt that life was great for me»
Ana Gómez is 46 years old and about 15 years ago, being a mother of two girls, she was diagnosed with ADHD (disorder due to attention deficit and hyperactivity). As a child, she always thought that her "peculiarities", such as that ease of losing things, disorientation, lateness or the difficulty of remembering appointments, were part of a personality "very disorganized, very chaotic, distraught and impulsive." But when she became a mother she b…
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