(Press-News.org) TikTok is one of the fastest-growing and most popular social media platforms in the world – especially among college-age individuals. In the United States alone, there are over 136 million TikTok users aged 18 and older, with approximately 45 million falling within the college-age demographic. And college students aren’t just using the platform to watch viral videos. They’re also turning to it as a source of information, with around 40% of Americans using TikTok as a search engine.
While the app can be a valuable source of tips and how-to content, users should remain cautious and discerning, especially when it comes to health and safety information related to conditions like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), subjects about which misinformation can easily spread. To explore the impact of such factually incorrect content, researchers from the Department of Psychology at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences conducted a study examining how college-aged students respond to inaccurate ADHD-related content.
Their findings, published in the high-impact journal European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, revealed that exposure to ADHD misinformation on TikTok significantly reduced students’ accurate understanding of the disorder. The study’s lead author, Ashley Schiros, a Ph.D. candidate in clinical psychology at Syracuse University, notes that this is concerning because such narratives could reshape public perceptions of ADHD in ways that do not align with established scientific knowledge.
“The dangers of ADHD misinformation spread via social media is that individuals may develop an inaccurate understanding of the signs, symptoms and treatments for ADHD,” notes Schiros, who co-authored the study with Kevin Antshel, professor of psychology at Syracuse University. “On one hand, misconceptions about ADHD may lead to individuals having less accurate knowledge about ADHD and may contribute to unwarranted treatment-seeking. On the other hand, belief that non-evidence-based treatments are an effective means of managing ADHD may lead to self-diagnosis or create barriers to evidence-based treatment-seeking.”
A TikTok Test
Schiros became interested in conducting the study after noticing a trend in clinical settings: many college students were seeking psychological assessments or therapy under the impression that they had ADHD—an impression often shaped by misinformation encountered online. The study aimed to explore how digital content about ADHD was influencing students’ interest in obtaining a diagnosis or pursuing treatment.
She and her co-authors developed an assessment in which approximately 500 Syracuse University students were randomly assigned to view TikTok posts featuring either accurate information about ADHD or factually incorrect content. The accurate content included slides with factual statements about ADHD symptoms, such as: 'often have trouble completing assignments on time,' 'difficulty remaining focused during lectures,' and 'frequently losing important items like your phone, keys, or water bottle.' In contrast, the misinformation slides presented inaccurate claims about ADHD symptoms, including: 'the urge to people please,' 'ADHD paralysis,' and 'a chronic feeling of being overwhelmed over the smallest tasks.'
A baseline measure of ADHD knowledge was completed pre-content-viewing. Following content-viewing, participants completed measures assessing ADHD-related knowledge, stigma and treatment-seeking intentions.
Deciphering Real from Reel
Researchers found that participants exposed to ADHD misinformation demonstrated significantly lower accuracy in their ADHD knowledge, yet reported greater confidence in that knowledge after viewing the content. Notably, the misinformation group also expressed stronger intentions to seek both evidence-based and non-evidence-based treatments. Additionally, participants’ perception of the content as entertaining was significantly linked to both their ADHD knowledge and treatment-seeking intentions. Schiros notes that their findings suggest that the sharing of inaccurate TikTok content not only undermines factual understanding of ADHD but also fosters misplaced confidence and increased motivation to pursue treatment. And the implications of this work stretch beyond ADHD diagnoses.
“Although this study focused specifically on misinformation regarding ADHD online, there is a wide range of factually incorrect advice regarding various health and mental health topics on social media,” she says. “Consumers of online content are strongly encouraged to be aware of the prevalence of misinformation and learn tools to critically engage with and cross-verify the information they encounter online.”
Fact-Checking the Feed
So how can these changes be achieved? According to Schiros, addressing ADHD misinformation on social media is a complex challenge that likely requires systems-level interventions. She suggests that large institutions, such as medical centers and universities, can play a key role by launching social media campaigns that both pre-bunk and debunk common ADHD myths, while also sharing accurate and engaging content.
Additionally, Schiros highlights the potential for creator-focused interventions. Providing content creators with tools to improve the accuracy of their health-related posts and offering incentives for sharing evidence-based information could further help curb the spread of misinformation.
The team intends to conduct a follow-up study examining real-world exposure to ADHD misinformation by analyzing participants’ typical TikTok usage and its relationship to their knowledge of ADHD and intentions to seek treatment. The authors say future research is also needed to explore how online ADHD content influences stigma and to evaluate effective strategies for countering inaccurate information.
END
Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma
2025-06-30
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue
2025-06-30
PITTSBURGH, June 30, 2025—For the first time, the extreme variability in dengue fever has been linked to a biological mechanism, potentially opening doors to new treatments and vaccines for the most common mosquito-borne disease worldwide. The study was published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC and Instituto Aggeu Magalhães in Brazil.
Cases of dengue fever, commonly known as “breakbone fever” for the excruciating joint pain that is the hallmark of the disease, have ...
Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species
2025-06-30
Using whole genome sequencing and cutting-edge analyses researchers at Stockholm University have uncovered the surprising evolutionary history of the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus), revealing it to be one of the most recently evolved mammal species. The results published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reveal that the Norwegian lemming is a distinct species that split from its closest relative, the Western Siberian lemming, approximately 35,000 years ago — just before the peak of the last Ice Age.
“The ...
Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity
2025-06-30
Going to bed earlier than usual may help to optimise physical activity the following day, Monash University-led research has found.
Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study examined whether sleep duration and sleep timing were associated with the duration of moderate-to-vigorous and overall physical activity the following day.
In the primary study, almost 20,000 participants wore a validated biometric device (WHOOP) for one year, resulting in almost six million nights of data. Objective sleep and physical activity metrics were derived from the wrist-worn device.
The study examined how both typical ...
Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change
2025-06-30
27 June 2025
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 20:00 UK TIME (15:00 U.S. EASTERN TIME) ON MONDAY JUNE 30, 2025
Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change
Scientists at the University of Southampton have developed a new way of analysing fossils allowing them to see how creatures from millions of years ago were shaped by their environment on a day-to-day basis for the first time.
The research published today [30 June] in Proceedings of the National Academy ...
Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses
2025-06-30
UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 20:00 UK TIME (15:00 U.S. EASTERN TIME) ON MONDAY JUNE 30, 2025
Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses
Researchers have discovered a dramatic and unexpected shift in the Southern Ocean, with surface water salinity rising and sea ice in steep decline.
Since 2015, Antarctica has lost sea ice equal to the size of Greenland — the largest environmental shift seen anywhere on Earth in the last decades. The Southern Ocean is also getting saltier, and this unexpected change is making the problem worse.
For decades, the ocean’s surface freshened (becoming less salty), helping sea ice grow. Now, scientists ...
Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal
2025-06-30
When we think of fossils, giant prehistoric creatures like dinosaurs may come to mind. But the fossil record also holds the remains of smaller organisms, such as fish and corals, that tell us about our oceans’ past.
Scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) recently studied exposed fossilized coral reefs from Panama's Bocas del Toro Province and the Dominican Republic, comparing them with nearby modern reefs. These exceptionally well-preserved reefs date back 7,000 ...
Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild
2025-06-30
In the study, researchers from Canada, New Zealand and Mexico reported on 34 interactions spanning two decades in which orcas in the wild attempted to offer food to humans. The incidents took place in oceans around the world, from California to New Zealand to Norway to Patagonia.
“Orcas often share food with each other – it’s a prosocial activity and a way that they build relationships with each other,” said study lead author Jared Towers, of Bay Cetology in British Columbia, Canada. “That they also share with humans may show their interest ...
Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems
2025-06-30
A recently published article in the journal BioScience reveals that endangered longleaf pine ecosystems—among North America's most biodiverse habitats—face mounting threats from intensifying hurricane regimes driven by climate change. An interdisciplinary team of authors headed by Nicole Zampieri (Tall Timbers and The Jones Center at Ichauway) describe the urgent situation: The North American Coastal Plain was once characterized by extensive longleaf pine savannas covering approximately 36 million hectares. Today, these ecosystems "now occupy ...
Montana State geologist’s Antarctic research focuses on accumulations of rare earth elements
2025-06-30
BOZEMAN – They’re in the headlines every week – critical minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and the rare earth elements essential for high-technology and national security applications.
While nations and businesses around the globe strategize to secure supplies of the coveted resources, Montana State University geologist Zachary Burton studies how rare earth elements are moved by geochemical and aqueous forces, such as freeze-thaw cycles and snowmelt, to concentrate in different environments.
“Rare earth elements aren’t technically rare – they ...
Groundbreaking cancer therapy clinical trial with US Department of Energy’s accelerator-produced actinium-225 set to begin this summer
2025-06-30
The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Isotope Program, within the Office of Science, will supply a U.S. based company with accelerator produced actinium-225 (Ac-225) in support of an upcoming U.S. clinical trial for cancer therapy for the first time. This is a significant milestone in the advancement of radiopharmaceutical development and cancer therapy because it opens a potential new pipeline for this lifesaving isotope.
"We are proud to enable U.S. based companies to push past the boundaries on how we combat cancer in this country," said Christopher Landers, Director of the Office of Isotope ...