Research Recap with Skye: TikTok and ADHD- Sorting Facts from Misinformation
Welcome to Hacking Your ADHD. I'm your host, William Curb, and I have ADHD. On this podcast, I dig into the tools, tactics, and best practices to help you work with your ADHD brain.
Today, I’m joined by Skye Waterson for our Research Recap series, where we take a look at a single research paper—what it says, how it was conducted, and what practical takeaways we can find.
In this episode, we’re discussing a 2022 paper titled “TikTok and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality.” It got quite a bit of coverage when it came out, and I thought it’d be good to revisit it—not because TikTok is back in the news, but because it raises some interesting questions about ADHD information online.
Before we get started, I’d love to hear what you think of the Research Recap series. If you have feedback or a paper you’d like us to cover, head to hackingyouradhd.com/contact. New Research Recap episodes come out every other Friday.
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William Curb:
So, Skye, tell me what you know about TikTok.
Skye Waterson:
Good place to start. I had TikTok a few years ago, but honestly, I didn’t love where it took me. The algorithm was like, “Oh, you must want more of this!” and I was thinking, “No, I value my mental health.” So, I stopped using it.
That doesn’t mean I don’t use short-form videos — I still watch Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — but I decided TikTok just isn’t for me. You won’t find us on TikTok at all. So, I came into this conversation as someone active on social media, just not on that platform.
William Curb:
Yeah, same. I used to post videos on TikTok, but I haven’t been active in years. It felt detrimental to my health because it’s so good at capturing attention. I found it hard to be on the app while also making videos for others — it didn’t sit right with me.
The right answer for me was to step away. Although, I’ll admit, TikTok is still on my phone because I wanted to look up some of my old videos. But it hasn’t grabbed me again — I just don’t open it.
That got me wondering how much people actually watch TikTok. The average user spends about 95 minutes a day, which is roughly an hour and a half. That’s a lot, but some people watch way more. The average video is 20 to 30 seconds long, some as short as three seconds. Apparently, in some regions, you can post 30-minute videos now, which feels more like YouTube territory.
So, the bottom line is: the average user is seeing hundreds of videos every day, especially with how quickly people scroll.
Skye Waterson:
Yeah, definitely. And in terms of this paper, it’s really interesting. The researchers pointed out that the hashtag #ADHD was the seventh most popular health-related hashtag on TikTok. That’s wild, because “health” covers such a massive range of topics.
They wanted to see whether the ADHD content being shared was accurate and beneficial. Basically, could someone go on TikTok and get reliable information about ADHD?
William Curb:
Right. So, they looked at the 100 most popular videos under the #ADHD hashtag and assessed them using two main tools:
The Patient Educational Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) for audiovisual materials, which measures how understandable a video is — not necessarily how accurate it is.
The JAMA Benchmark Criteria from the Journal of the American Medical Association, which looks at things like authorship, attribution, disclosure, and how current the information is.
Most of the videos scored high on understandability. But the JAMA criteria were more controversial because social media isn’t built for formal citation.
Skye Waterson:
Exactly. I used to write online articles with lots of references, so I understand why that matters. But I didn’t know about the JAMA criteria back then. They expect creators to credit their sources, disclose sponsorships, and use language like “see a professional if you think you have ADHD.” That’s a lot to fit into a 30-second clip.
William Curb:
Yeah, and that’s where the pushback came from. It’s important to know who’s making the content and where the information comes from, but it’s hard to do that properly on a social platform.
Skye Waterson:
Their goal was that if you met their criteria, your content was factual, cited sources, and pointed people toward professional help. And they used examples that included those things — which, again, is hard to fit into short-form video.
William Curb:
Exactly. But they also gave examples of misleading statements — things like videos about “ADHD paralysis,” or ones saying ADHD is equally common between girls and boys. Research doesn’t really support that, although that may be due to underdiagnosis in girls.
They also listed “ADHD symptoms only intensify with puberty” as misinformation, which surprised me, because I’ve seen studies suggesting that can be true.
Skye Waterson:
Yeah, me too. But some of the examples were definitely off the wall — like a video claiming, “If you listen to this sound, it will tell you if you have ADHD.” That’s obviously not evidence-based.
William Curb:
Right. Another one was “ADHD lacks object permanence,” which isn’t accurate. Object permanence refers to when infants don’t realize something still exists when it’s out of sight. That’s different from “out of sight, out of mind,” which is what people are really talking about.
So yeah, some of the misinformation came from people using the wrong terms or oversimplifying.
Skye Waterson:
Exactly. And that can be misleading, especially if someone is using TikTok as their only source of ADHD information. It could make them believe they have ADHD when they don’t, or vice versa.
William Curb:
So, here’s how they classified the videos: each one was labeled as misleading, personal experience, or useful. Two people reviewed them, and if they disagreed, a third reviewer decided.
Skye Waterson:
Right — and here’s the kicker. If a personal story included even one misleading statement, it was marked as “misleading,” not “personal experience.” That matters because personal experience videos were actually some of the most popular and relatable.
Their examples of “useful” videos were ones with clear medical language, like explaining that ADHD symptoms such as daydreaming, sleep issues, or academic difficulties might warrant seeing a professional. That kind of language usually comes from healthcare providers, not creators doing “day in the life” content.
William Curb:
Yeah, and the researchers wanted more healthcare professionals to make that kind of content. And while there are some doing it really well, others… not so much.
Skye Waterson:
Exactly. And when they looked at engagement, the difference was clear. Non-healthcare professionals averaged about 653,000 likes per video, while healthcare professionals averaged about 402,000. So the more clinical content didn’t perform as well.
William Curb:
Makes sense — presentation matters. But even among healthcare professionals, about 20% of videos were still misleading. It sounds high, but that’s just three out of eleven videos — a tiny sample.
Skye Waterson:
Right. Still, it raises good questions about citing sources. Honestly, we deal with that too. We’re passionate about sharing accurate information, but sometimes it’s hard to decide whether to cite everything in social posts. This paper makes me want to go back to including sources, even if it costs some engagement.
William Curb:
Yeah, I agree. Their results were 52% misleading, 27% personal experience, and 21% useful. I don’t love that “personal experience” was separate from “useful.” Personal stories are valuable.
Skye Waterson:
Totally. For a lot of people, personal experiences are how they identify with ADHD — especially if diagnosis isn’t accessible. Sometimes, the research lags behind what the community already knows.
William Curb:
Yeah, and just to be clear, we’re not saying there’s no misinformation about ADHD online. There’s plenty — especially from creators who oversimplify or don’t understand the nuance.
Skye Waterson:
Exactly. The takeaway is: everyone on social media can get things wrong — even professionals. Use platforms like TikTok as a starting point for learning, not your only source. If something catches your attention, go check it out for yourself.
William Curb:
And for creators, cite your sources when you can. It builds trust and helps your audience fact-check. We all make mistakes, but being transparent matters.
Skye Waterson:
Yeah. Whether you’re creating or consuming, social media should be a jumping-off point for knowledge — not the final word.