The BBC recently ran an article by @Jacqui_wak exposing influencers who sell fake cures for polycystic ovary syndrome.
In our research about mental health, we also found that some influencers promote solutions which risk harm rather than providing help.
Our data (27,000 videos from TikTok) includes content from health professionals, people with lived experience of mental health and ‘wellness’ influencers.
The wellness influencers talk about supplements, acne, fat loss, wellness, hormones and women’s health significantly more often than the other types of influencers.
The comments that responded to these posts suggest that while some viewers find them helpful, others do not.
We asked 14 experts (seven mental health professionals and seven experts by Lived Experience) to benchmark a selection of the videos in our data for the help and harm that the content might offer.
Promoting supplements rather than medical treatment for depression was seen as particularly harmful by our experts, with concerns including:
- Inaccurate claims made about the benefits of the supplements without evidence
- Promoting use of supplements (e.g. Lithium orotate) which are reported to cause physical side effects for some people.
- Isolating people from reliable forms of help
- Feeding conspiracy theories which decrease willingness to seek help for mental health issues.
Although there are policies in place which govern the recommendations of over-the- counter items in the UK, in social media, viewers can follow influencers based in other countries who are not subject to the same regulation.
Our research is building an evidence-base to create resources that will help young people, their families and educators improve mental health literacy and navigate the unregulated content posted by influencers more safely.
For more information, please contact Professor Ruth Page (r.e.page@bham.ac.uk)