Summary: University students are increasingly resorting to Tiktok to obtain information, even in mental health. A new study found that exposure to erroneous information about ADHD on the platform reduced students’ objective knowledge, but increased their confidence in that knowledge.
Participants who saw misleading content were also more likely to seek scientifically supported and not tested treatments. These findings highlight the dangers of the narratives of inaccurate social networks that shape public understanding and health decisions.
Key facts:
Erroneous information effect: Exposure to the false content of Tiktok reduced the precision of ADHD knowledge but greater confidence. Treatment intentions: students cheated by the ADHD content were more likely to seek evidence -based treatments and not based on evidence. Entertainment link: perceive content as entertaining was associated with greater belief and treatment behavior.
Source: University of Syracuse
Tiktok is one of the fastest and most popular social media platforms in the world, especially among university age.
In the United States alone, there are more than 136 million Tiktok users, 18 years or older, with approximately 45 million that fall within the demographic group in university age.
And university students not only use the platform to watch viral videos. They are also resorting to it as a source of information, with about 40% of Americans who use Tiktok as a search engine.
While the application can be a valuable source of tips and content of how to do, users must remain cautious and demanding, especially when it comes to health and safety information related to conditions such as care deficit disorder/hyperactivity (ADHD), subjects on what wrong information can easily spread.
To explore the impact of such a factically incorrect content, the researchers of the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the University of Syracuse conducted a study that examines how university students respond to the inaccurate content related to ADHD.
His findings, published in the magazine of high European Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, revealed that exposure to erroneous information of ADHD in Tiktok significantly reduced the precise understanding of the students of disorder.
The main author of the study, Ashley Schiros, Ph.D. The candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Syracuse, points out that this is worrying because such narratives could remodel the public perceptions of ADHD so that they do not align with the established scientific knowledge.
“The dangers of the disinformation of ADHD spread through social networks is that people can develop an inaccurate understanding of the signs, symptoms and treatments for ADHD,” says Schiros, who is co -author of the study with Kevin Antshel, professor of psychology at the University of Syracuse.
“On the one hand, erroneous concepts about ADHD can lead to people having less accurate knowledge about ADHD and can contribute to the unjustified search for treatment.
“On the other hand, the belief that evidence -based treatments are an effective means to control ADHD can lead to self -diagnosis or create barriers to the search for evidence -based treatment.”
A TIKTOK test
Schiros was interested in conducting the study after noticing a trend in clinical environments: many university students were looking for psychological evaluations or therapy under the impression that they had ADHD, a often molded impression by the wrong information found online.
The study aimed to explore how the digital content about ADHD was influencing students’ interest in obtaining a diagnosis or treatment.
She and her co -authors developed an evaluation in which approximately 500 students from the University of Syracuse were randomly assigned to see Tiktok publications with precise information about ADHD or factically incorrect content.
The precise content included slides with objective statements about ADHD symptoms, such as: “They often have trouble completing tasks in time”, “difficulty to remain focused during conferences” and “frequently lose important items such as your phone, keys or bottle of water.”
On the contrary, erroneous information slides presented inaccurate statements about the symptoms of ADHD, which include: “The need of people, please,” ADHD paralysis “and” a chronic sensation of being overwhelmed by smaller tasks. “
A knowledge reference measure of ADHD was completed. After the view of the content, the participants completed measures that evaluate knowledge related to ADHD, stigma and intentions to seek treatment.
Reel real decipher
The researchers found that the participants exposed to the erroneous information of ADHD demonstrated significantly lower precision in their knowledge of ADHD, but reported greater confidence in that knowledge after seeing the content.
In particular, the misinformation group also expressed stronger intentions to seek evidence -based treatments and not based on evidence.
In addition, the perception of the participants about the content as entertainment was significantly linked to both their knowledge of ADHD and with the intentions of treatment search.
Schiros points out that his findings suggest that the exchange of inaccurate content of Tiktok not only undermines the objective understanding of ADHD, but also encourages trust out of trust and the greatest motivation to follow the treatment. And the implications of this work extend beyond the DAH diagnoses.
“Although this study focused specifically on erroneous information regarding online ADHD, there is a wide range of factically incorrect advice with respect to various issues of health and mental health on social networks,” she says.
“It is strongly recommended to consumers of online content to be aware of the prevalence of misinformation and learn tools to critically compromise and cross the information they find online.”
Verification of facts
So how can these changes be achieved? According to Schiros, addressing the erroneous information of ADHD in social networks is a complex challenge that probably requires interventions at the systems level.
She suggests that large institutions, such as medical centers and universities, can play a key role by launching social network campaigns that pre-bunk and discrediting common ADHD myths, while sharing precise and attractive content.
In addition, Schiros highlights the potential for interventions centered on the creator. Providing content creators tools to improve the accuracy of their health -related publications and offer incentives to share evidence -based information could even more help the propagation of erroneous information.
The team intends to carry out a follow -up study that examines real world exposure to the wrong information of ADHD through the analysis of the typical Tiktok use of the participants and their relationship with their knowledge of ADHD and the intentions of seeking treatment.
The authors say that future research is also needed to explore how the onhh online content influences stigma and evaluate effective strategies to counteract inaccurate information.
On this research news of the ADHD
Author: Daryl Lovell
Source: University of Syracuse
Contact: Daryl Lovell – University of Syracuse
Image: The image is accredited to Neuroscience News
Original research: open access.
“Mayhem of erroneous information: the effects of Tiktok content on the knowledge of ADHD, stigma and treatment intentions” by Kevin Antshel et al. European Psychiatry of Children and Adolescents
Abstract
Mayhem of erroneous information: the effects of Tiktok content on the knowledge of ADHD, stigma and treatment intentions
The attention deficit content/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in Tiktok is popular among university students, however, the wrong information of the ADHD prevails in Tiktok.
This study aims to experimentally investigate the effects of the erroneous information content of Tdah TDAh in the knowledge of ADHD, stigma and intentions to seek treatment.
An experimental design evaluated the impact of ADHD information among university students without prior treatment.
A pilot phase was completed to develop Tiktok stimuli, using a systematic content analysis and provide initial viability evidence.
In the main study, participants (n = 490) were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (precise ADHD information, erroneous information of ADHD, control) to see the Tiktok content.
A knowledge reference measure of ADHD was completed.
After the view of the content, the participants completed measures that evaluate knowledge related to ADHD, stigma and intentions to seek treatment.
The participants exposed to the wrong information of the ADHD exhibited a significantly less precise ADHD knowledge, but greater confidence in their knowledge of ADHD-Visualization after content.
The participants exposed to the precise TDAh content exhibited significantly more ADHD knowledge and confidence in their knowledge after content.
The ERH erroneous information group reported higher intentions to seek evidence -based ADHD treatment and not based on evidence.
No significant effects of the content condition in the ADHD stigma were found.
The perceived entertainment of the Tiktok content was significantly associated with the knowledge of ADHD and the intentions of searching for treatment.
The erroneous information of Tdah decreases knowledge of ADHD, but increases confidence in that knowledge, as well as in the intentions of searching for ADD treatment.
These findings provide an essential first step to understand the potential damage to the wrong information of Tiktok at the individual and public level.
