Researchers said that more than half of allegations related to the symptoms of hyperactivity and attention disorder (ADHD) in common videos on the “Tech Tok” platform are not in line with clinical standards, according to the results of a study published by the Plos One.
The study, which highlights the challenges associated with the use of social media platforms as a source of information on mental health, showed that the perceptions of adults of the value of these clips are greatly different from the perceptions of psychologists.
Social media and mental health sites
The spread of social media has facilitated access to information about mental health, including hyperplastic disorder and lack of attention, a neurological disorder that affects attention, motor activity, and impulsivity, and is estimated that it affects about 3 to 7% of adults.
Unlike traditional sources of psychological education, social media focuses on the experiences of individuals who suffer from these disorders themselves, which gives the content in a personal nature, reflecting the real life experience.
Social media, such as Tek Tok, can be a powerful tool for spreading information on mental health, reducing social stigma, and linking individuals to supportive societies.
However, the lack of content control, or verification mechanisms may cause concern about the spread of inaccurate or misleading information.
Hypermul disorder
In separate studies, the researchers resolved the content of hyperactivity disorder and a lack of attention on Tek Tok, focused on the most common features of the content, how young people interact with this content, and their impact on their understanding of this disorder.
Tek Talk is a social media platform that allows users to publish short videos, and has witnessed tremendous popularity in recent years, with more than 50 million active users per day.
Tek Tuk and Gil Z
What distinguishes the Tech Talk platform is that it has become a key source for searching for information, especially among young generations such as the millennial generation and the “Gen Z”, as many prefer to use it on traditional search engines such as Google.
For individuals who seek information about hyperactivity disorder and attention lack, Tech Talk provides an opportunity to communicate with others with the same symptoms, giving them a feeling of understanding and belonging.
The platform facilitates access to mental health content in a free way, which is important for people who have difficulties in reaching specialized medical resources.
But the nature of Tek Talk, which depends on short and fast clips, makes it difficult to provide accurate and balanced information about psychological disorders, and the platform algorithms are designed to attract the attention of users and keep them on the application for the longest possible period, which may lead to the enhancement of “confirmation bias”, as users are frequently exposed to content that is in line with their prior opinions, which enhances the feeling that this information is correct, Even if it is inaccurate.
Studies have shown that there is a gap between the information provided by mental health experts and the content spread on Tek Tok. Research reviews found that wrong information is widespread through social media platforms in multiple topics, including vaccinations, chronic diseases, and eating disorders.
With regard to hyperactivity disorder and lack of attention, it was found that 52% of the videos that deal with this disorder contain inaccurate or misleading information, and the content related to this disorder often depends on personal experiences, not on scientific evidence.
While most content makers do not claim that they specialize in mental health, the failure to provide an accurate scientific context may lead to a misunderstanding of the nature of the disorder, for example, some symptoms may be provided as a fixed feature in all the infected, without admitting that symptoms of disorder differ from one person to another, or the treatment strategies may be suggested by scientifically unpopular.
Inaccurate conclusions
The Tikkuk content can affect the way users realize the disorders, including the ability to diagnose themselves themselves based on the information they receive.
Although self -diagnosis may give individuals a sense of controlling their mental health, it may also lead to inaccurate conclusions about their health, especially if it is based on non -scientific information.
The study says that one of the main concerns is that users may confuse normal symptoms and behaviors that are part of the hyperactivity disorder, and someone may think that he only has disorder because it faces difficulty focusing from time to time, while this can be a natural matter, and does not necessarily indicate a mental disorder.
On the other hand, the spread of inaccurate information may reduce confidence in doctors and specialists, and some individuals prefer to search for tips on the Internet instead of going to psychiatric clinics, and studies have shown that some users are negatively affected by inaccurate information, which leads them to avoid scientifically proven treatments in favor of unprecedented, or even harmful methods.
Negative
Initial results indicate that individuals who consume content around that disorder on Tek Tok, are frequently, are more likely to believe that hyperactivity disorder and attention lack is more common than it is actually, and they are more likely to evaluate the Tek Tok platform as a reliable source of information, even if its content is inaccurate.
The researchers resolved the content of 100 popular video clips on tuk under the tag (#ADHD), and found that less than half of allegations related to the symptoms of disorder in these clips were compatible with the “diagnostic and statistical guide for mental disorders”, which is the global standard used by doctors to diagnose mental disorders.
After that, the researchers surveyed the opinions of 843 university students about their habits in watching ADHD clips and perceptions towards these clips, and five videos classified by psychologists were shown as the most recommended, and five clips that were classified as the least recommended.
Students, who were diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder and lack of attention, whether formally or self -authenticity, reported that they are watching videos with a more frequently tag (#ADHD) compared to students who do not suffer from this disorder.
The study also showed that students who watched these sections were more inclined to recommend others, whether the clips are classified by psychologists as high -quality, or low quality.
The researchers also found that people who follow large quantities of content related to hyperactivity disorder and a lack of attention on “tuk” tend to exaggerate the estimation of the spread of this disorder, as they estimated its spread by up to ten times the reality, and they also showed more negative thinking about their own symptoms.
The researchers describe this study as a starting point for future research, exploring how to depict hyperactivity disorder and lack of attention on social media platforms, as understanding of gaps between the perceptions of psychologists and young adults in developing better efforts to serve people who suffer from this disorder.
