Do you have ADHD? That TikTok might not help you decide

Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alone. "I personally don't think that there's anything more human than wanting to understand yourself and wanting to understand your own experiences," says Vasileia Karasavva. Vasileia is the lead author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One that gets into why this kind of self-diagnosis can be such a double-edged sword.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

Mar 21, 2025 - 08:14

Do you have ADHD? That TikTok might not help you decide

In many ways, social media platforms like TikTok have helped democratize mental health discussions around things like ADHD. But researchers find the information is not always accurate.

Ever diagnosed yourself with a mental health disorder based on a TikTok video? If so, you're not alone. "I personally don't think that there's anything more human than wanting to understand yourself and wanting to understand your own experiences," says Vasileia Karasavva. Vasileia is the lead author of a paper published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One that gets into why this kind of self-diagnosis can be such a double-edged sword.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.