TikTok and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality
Open accessAbstract
Objectives: Social media platforms are increasingly being used to disseminate mental health information online. User-generated content about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most popular health topics on the video-sharing social media platform TikTok. We sought to investigate the quality of TikTok videos about ADHD. Method: The top 100 most popular videos about ADHD uploaded by TikTok video creators were classified as misleading, useful, or personal experience. Descriptive and quantitative characteristics of the videos were obtained. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V) and Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria were used to assess the overall quality, understandability, and actionability of the videos. Results: Of the 100 videos meeting inclusion criteria, 52% ( n = 52) were classified as misleading, 27% ( n = 27) as personal experience, and 21% ( n = 21) as useful. Classification agreement between clinician ratings was 86% (kappa statistic of 0.7766). Videos on the platform were highly understandable by viewers but had low actionability. Non-healthcare providers uploaded the majority of misleading videos. Healthcare providers uploaded higher quality and more useful videos, compared to non-healthcare providers. Conclusions: Approximately half of the analyzed TikTok videos about ADHD were misleading. Clinicians should be aware of the widespread dissemination of health misinformation on social media platforms and its potential impact on clinical care.
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Many accounts describing users with conditions such as eating disorders, Tourette's Syndrome, Dissociative Identity Disorder, ADHD, and borderline personality disorder received millions of views on TikTok.
“Notably, many accounts describing the journeys of users with conditions such as eating disorders (ED), Tourette’s Syndrome, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and borderline personality disorder received millions of views [40–43].”
From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [43]
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- Authors
- Yeung, A., Ng, E., & Abi-Jaoude, E.
- Affiliations
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CA)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- University of Toronto
- Corresponding author
- Yeung, Anthony
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-02-23
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 899-906
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- PMC
- PMC9659797
- OpenAlex
- W4213417183
- Cited by
- 355
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 101 · 2025: 107 · 2024: 93 · 2023: 44 · 2022: 9 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 48.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Keywords
- TikTok, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, health misinformation, social media health information, video quality, PEMAT-A/V, JAMA benchmark criteria, user-generated content
- MeSH terms
- Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Cross-Sectional Studies, Humans, United States, Video Recording, Information Dissemination, Social Media
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