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In a nutshell
- Less than half of viral ADHD TikTok claims align with official diagnostic criteria, with most videos lacking important context about symptom variation.
- People who consume more ADHD content on TikTok tend to overestimate how common ADHD is (33.8% vs. actual 3-7%) and are more likely to recommend even low-quality videos.
- After watching ADHD TikToks, people without ADHD became less confident they don’t have it, while those with self-diagnoses became more convinced of their self-assessment.
VANCOUVER — Social media has transformed how we find information about everything from recipes to mental health conditions. Now, research from the University of British Columbia reveals concerning patterns in how ADHD is portrayed on TikTok and how those portrayals shape public understanding. The study shows that despite enormous popularity—with the top 100 ADHD-related videos amassing nearly half a billion views—less than 50% of claims made in these videos align with actual diagnostic criteria.
More concerning still: people who watch more ADHD content on TikTok tend to overestimate how common the condition is and often recommend low-quality videos to others. Published in PLOS ONE, the research paper dubs the hashtag #ADHD on TikTok as “double-edged.”
TikTok has become incredibly influential, especially among younger users. The researchers note that up to two in five Americans now prefer TikTok over traditional search engines like Google, with this preference strongest among Gen Z (64%) and Millennials (49%). For mental health information, this shift matters tremendously.
People naturally gravitate toward content that matches what they already believe, while avoiding contradictory information. “The human tendency for confirmation bias… may compound this process,” the researchers note, explaining how users preferentially engage with information that supports their existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory evidence. This creates an echo chamber effect where “repeated exposure to content that aligns with one’s pre-existing beliefs increases the content’s perceived credibility and the probability of sharing it.”
The research team conducted two connected studies. First, they analyzed the 100 most popular TikTok videos tagged with #ADHD, having clinical psychologists evaluate how well these videos matched established diagnostic criteria. Then, they examined how 843 college students—some with formal ADHD diagnoses, others with self-diagnosed ADHD, and some with no ADHD—interact with and judge ADHD content on TikTok.
The Gap Between Virality and Accuracy
The numbers tell a compelling story: those top 100 videos collectively reached nearly 500 million views, averaging 5.47 million views per video. Each post received, on average, nearly a million likes, almost 10,000 comments, over 71,000 saves, and around 20,000 shares—showing massive reach. Yet when psychologists specialized in ADHD evaluated this content, they found fewer than half (48.7%) of the symptom claims accurately reflected ADHD as described in the diagnostic manual used by clinicians.
Most videos lacked important context. Only about 4% acknowledged that symptoms shown might not apply to everyone with ADHD, and just over 1% mentioned that these symptoms could also occur in people without ADHD. Of claims that didn’t match formal ADHD criteria, more than two-thirds (68.5%) simply reflected normal human experiences rather than clinical symptoms.
This gap between professional assessment and public perception becomes even clearer in the second study. Young adults consistently rated videos more highly than the expert assessments would suggest they should. While they did give better ratings to videos the psychologists preferred, the difference was much smaller than the experts’ evaluations would indicate. Notably, participants with self-diagnosed ADHD rated poor-quality videos (as judged by professionals) more favorably than did those with formal diagnoses.
How TikTok Shapes ADHD Perceptions
The study shows a clear pattern: the more ADHD-related TikTok content participants typically watched, the more favorably they viewed such content—regardless of its quality—and the more likely they were to recommend it to others. Heavy consumers of ADHD TikTok content also estimated ADHD prevalence in the general population at much higher rates than research supports.
Study participants estimated, on average, that 33.8% of the general population has ADHD—far above the 3-7% prevalence rate documented in research. Those with self-diagnosed ADHD gave the highest estimates, significantly higher than both those without ADHD and those with formal diagnoses.
“Frequent exposure to #ADHD TikTok content can normalize it so that users believe that what they see on TikTok is a typical and accurate representation of ADHD,” the researchers suggest as one possible explanation for these findings.
In an interesting experiment, participants were shown various TikTok videos and then given the option to watch a clinical psychologist evaluate that content. About half (51.4%) chose to watch the expert assessment. Those with formal ADHD diagnoses (62.4%) were most likely to opt in, followed by self-diagnosed participants (52.3%), and those without ADHD (40%).
After watching ADHD-related TikTok videos, participants without ADHD became less sure they didn’t have the disorder, while self-diagnosed individuals became more convinced of their self-assessment. Among those who chose to watch the psychologist’s evaluation, people without ADHD regained confidence in their non-ADHD status, but self-diagnosed participants showed no change in their confidence levels.
Balancing Accessibility and Accuracy
These findings highlight what the researchers call the “double-edged” nature of ADHD content on TikTok—it simultaneously makes mental health information more accessible while potentially spreading misconceptions. At its best, social media can fight stigma, boost awareness, and help people connect with communities who share their experiences. At its worst, it can promote misinformation and lead to misdiagnosis or unrealistic treatment expectations.
TikTok’s algorithm optimizes for engagement rather than accuracy, rewarding content that grabs attention through emotion, relatability, or simplification—often sacrificing accuracy for appeal. Adding to this concern, half of the content creators in the study could benefit financially from their ADHD content through merchandise sales, coaching services, or donation requests.
Content creators overwhelmingly cited personal experience rather than professional credentials. Of those who listed qualifications, 83.6% mentioned personal experience with ADHD, while only 1.6% reported being licensed mental health providers. None were PhD-level psychologists or psychiatrists. This emphasis on personal experience over clinical expertise creates tension: lived experience offers valuable insights traditional medical models might miss, but without clinical grounding, it can lead to overgeneralization.
The researchers acknowledge that social media platforms do offer real and meaningful benefits by democratizing information and reducing mental health stigma. For marginalized communities with limited healthcare access, TikTok can provide a vital first step to understanding their experiences. However, they argue that greater collaboration between mental health professionals and content creators could help bridge the gap between lived experience and clinical accuracy.
“Addressing this is crucial to improving access to treatment and enhancing support for those with ADHD,” the researchers conclude.
Paper Summary
Methodology
The researchers designed a two-part investigation to examine both ADHD content on TikTok and how people interpret it. For the first study, they created a new TikTok account and searched for “#ADHD,” recording the 100 most-viewed videos on January 10, 2023. They tracked metrics like views, comments, and shares, and documented details about content creators, including any mentioned credentials and potential financial interests. Two clinical psychologists with over 20 years of ADHD experience evaluated each video, assessing whether claims matched DSM-5 symptoms, whether videos acknowledged that symptoms vary between individuals, and whether they would recommend the video as educational material. For the second study, 843 undergraduate students were grouped into three categories: those with formal ADHD diagnoses (198), those with self-diagnosed ADHD (421), and those without ADHD (224). These participants completed questionnaires about their typical engagement with ADHD-related TikTok content, then watched the top 5 and bottom 5 psychologist-rated videos from the first study. After viewing each video, they evaluated its quality and reported their confidence in their own ADHD status. They were then offered the option to watch a psychologist explain their evaluation of the TikTok content, after which they again rated their confidence in their ADHD status.
Results
The research revealed several key findings. ADHD-related TikTok content is extremely popular, with the analyzed videos accumulating nearly 500 million views. On average, each video had 5.47 million views, almost a million likes, and was saved over 71,000 times. The psychologist evaluators found that less than half (48.7%) of the ADHD symptom claims in these videos correctly reflected DSM-5 criteria. Of claims that didn’t match clinical criteria, 68.5% were judged to simply reflect normal human experiences. Only 4.1% of videos acknowledged that symptoms might not apply to everyone with ADHD, and just 1.4% mentioned that symptoms could occur in people without ADHD. Young adult participants gave higher ratings to videos psychologists deemed misleading than the experts would have preferred. While they did rate professionally-preferred videos higher than low-quality ones, the gap was much smaller than the professionals’ evaluations suggested. Participants with self-diagnosed ADHD rated bottom-tier videos more favorably than did those with formal diagnoses. The more ADHD-related TikTok content participants typically watched, the more favorably they viewed such content and the more likely they were to recommend it to others. Participants on average estimated that 33.8% of the general population has ADHD (far above the 3-7% research-supported rate), with self-diagnosed individuals giving the highest estimates. After watching ADHD-related TikTok videos, participants without ADHD became less confident they didn’t have the disorder, while those with self-diagnoses became more confident in their self-assessment.
Limitations
The researchers note several constraints to their approach. The first study sampled only the 100 most popular TikTok videos, potentially missing insights from less viral but still influential content. TikTok’s search engine excludes videos containing ads, even though some may be widely viewed. Additionally, TikTok doesn’t allow searching of deleted videos, regardless of their previous popularity. The researchers also didn’t analyze whether user comments expressed support or criticism, noting that some engagement might reflect disagreement rather than endorsement. For the second study, limitations included using university students enrolled in psychology courses, who may view mental health differently than the general population. The sample was also predominantly female, which may limit broader application given that ADHD affects men and women differently. All measurements relied on self-reporting, which can be skewed by social desirability bias or memory errors. The researchers didn’t verify participants’ ADHD diagnoses, and the time between viewing videos and answering questions may have been too short to detect lasting perception changes. Additionally, because the videos were captured in January 2023 but viewed by participants in late 2023 or early 2024, some participants might have already seen the content, or some content might have referenced outdated trends.
Discussion and Takeaways
This research reveals a significant disconnect between how mental health professionals and young adults judge ADHD content on social media. While TikTok makes mental health information more accessible, especially for those facing barriers to professional services, it also risks spreading misconceptions through its algorithm-driven, engagement-focused format. The researchers suggest that the gap stems from different values: young adults appreciate relatability and personal experience, while professionals focus on clinical accuracy. Self-diagnosis appears to be reinforced by social media consumption, with self-diagnosed individuals showing more positive views of ADHD content than either formally diagnosed people or those without ADHD. The findings suggest that watching lots of ADHD-related content may normalize certain portrayals of the condition, potentially leading to overestimation of how common it is and how severe its symptoms typically are. Importantly, about half of participants chose to see a professional’s evaluation of the TikTok content when given the choice, suggesting openness to expert perspectives. The researchers recommend more collaboration between mental health professionals and content creators to connect lived experience with clinical accuracy, suggesting that mental health professionals should recognize the value patients find in social media content while providing clinical context and nuance.
Funding and Disclosures
The authors stated that they received no specific funding for this work and declared no competing interests. The data for both studies has been made publicly available on the Open Science Framework.
Publication Information
This research, “A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD,” was authored by Vasileia Karasavva, Caroline Miller, Nicole Groves, Andrés Montiel, Will Canu, and Amori Mikami. It was published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 19, 2025. The study was conducted at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, with collaborators from Seattle Children’s Hospital and Appalachian State University.
