#ADHD on TikTok - Is It Actually Educational?

Children and young adults are increasingly turning to online platforms for information, resources, and support related to mental health. Among others, ADHD is fast becoming a popular topic to speak about online. Which begs the question... what could the psychoeducational quality of these TikTok videos be?

Good thing there is an exact paper on this very topic!

• A double-edged hashtag: Evaluation of #ADHD-related TikTok content and its associations with perceptions of ADHD.

  Authors: Karasavva, V., Miller, C., Groves, N., Montiel, A., Canu, W., & Mikami, A. (2025).

The background of the intersection of ADHD and TikTok.

Firstly, it is a readily accessible app that millions of people worldwide spend at least 1 hour per day on.

Secondly, it is a user-driven platform; TikTok offers people a place to discuss and seek information about personal experiences. Sometimes, TikTok can offer a space for empowerment and community, and a space to discuss topics with less stigma attached.

Thirdly, it is important to note that TikTok engagement and algorithms create preferences for short, snappy, controversial, and easy-to-watch content. As a result, there is less room for nuance and more room for misinformation from the content itself, the perception, and the way the content is interpreted.

As a result, this study aimed to assess the psychological principles and educational quality behind 100 of the most popular TikTok videos on ADHD, collectively boasting half a billion views worldwide.

To do so, they compared the evaluations of two clinical psychologists with the perspectives and viewing behaviours of 800 undergraduate students. The clinical psychologists were asked to rate 100 of the most popular videos on the accuracy of the symptoms listed in the video, according to the DSM-5, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (widely used by clinicians to diagnose and treat mental disorders).

The results:

The clinical psychologists rated only 50% of the videos they watched as accurately describing a symptom of ADHD as described by the DSM-5.

In terms of nuance, only 4.1% of videos included an acknowledgment of applicability, and only 1.4% acknowledged the presence of this symptom in an individual without ADHD. Furthermore, almost 40% of the claims relating to treatment were based on personal experience without acknowledging that it may not work for everyone.

The undergraduate participants were asked to watch and rate the top five videos and bottom five videos as decided by the psychologists. They rated the top five videos from the psychologists less favourably, and rated the bottom five videos from the psychologists more favourably.

• If nothing else, this indicates a misalignment of preferences between psychologists and participants, in which the top five videos, as rated with the best psychoeducational aspects (in relation to the other videos), were not evaluated highly by participants. As the authors discuss, participants might value relatability and genuineness more favourably than academic background or clinical adherence.

Undergraduate participants with a greater level of ADHD-TikTok consumption also reported a higher incidence rate of ADHD in the population, and among family and friends. However, this incidence rate was estimated as higher in the whole undergraduate participant group, too.

Any conclusions?

The authors reported that a higher frequency of watching ADHD-related TikTok videos was associated with an increased likelihood of recommending TikTok for psychoeducational purposes. And they theorise that frequent exposure to similar content could lead participants to believe that this content is accurate (personal videos based on experiential accounts of ADHD). As a result, the content in these videos might be interpreted as typical of the ADHD experience, and therefore (might) link to the perceived higher incidence rate of ADHD in the general population.

This study did not conclude that TikTok shouldn't be used at all, as it is still an important service that offers a platform for viewers to share experiences and create communities. They do note a caveat about social media and mental health;

"The same TikTok algorithm may allow misconceptions about ADHD to proliferate, strengthening users’ beliefs in the accuracy of the information they are seeing."

The authors finish by acknowledging the power of social media in shaping public understanding of mental health-related topics. And they note that platforms, like TikTok, are important for information accessibility and destigmatisation. The final takeaway of the study highlights the potential dangers of using anecdotal content as a source of information. Maybe next time you watch a TikTok about which common behaviour indicates ADHD, you'll think about where this information came from, and how trustworthy it is.

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My thoughts:

Overall, I found this a really interesting read, and I thought it was very topical given how much content I see online relating to ADHD. I'd be interested in hearing from you as well, so let me know what you think in the comments 👇👇👇

Article:

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