The TikTok Doctor: What You Should Know About Social Media Self-Diagnosis

Social media has become such a prevalent part of modern day life which allows us to connect with others like never before. In many ways this has been a hugely beneficial platform, from instant updates from family and friends around the world to incredibly important videos of cute dogs, how-did-I-not-know-that life hacks, and even official government communication during a pandemic. There’s no denying that social media can bring joy, entertainment and meaningful connection. So what’s the catch?

In recent years, social media has transformed into a limitless information sharing, video-filled pool of unlimited capacity. In the mix of this transformation, you may have heard of the algorithms that drive the content we see on social media. In a really simple sense, these algorithms monitor what we pay the most attention to and push more of that content our way. As social media has developed, so have these advanced algorithms that know just what you might like to see. Let’s say you watch a video of how to care for a philodendron. You then see another video, this time addressing how to care for the brown edges of the leaves of the plant, just like the philodendron that you have at home! The video suggests it needs more water. You keep scrolling and come across another video that says fertiliser is the key. Before you know it, you’ve got all of the knowledge you need to care for your philodendron, so you begin giving it water and fertiliser, and now you’re excited to see the glorious green results!

If we take this example but apply it to the videos that address topics of mental health and psychological wellbeing, you might start to recognise some issues in this pattern. Perhaps you see a video which provides some interesting information about fidgeting behaviours being associated with anxiety. You might think, hold on, sometimes I fidget. Maybe that’s anxiety? The trusty algorithm shows you another similar video where someone shares five indicative features of generalised anxiety disorder, one of them being fidgeting, and four others that seem rather relatable. Generalised anxiety disorder has become a bit of a suspect here, so you want to find out more about it. Thankfully, a few more videos find their way to you and it becomes clear; because you fidget, like routine and spend time thinking about things that could go wrong, your suspicion of generalised anxiety disorder is confirmed. Just like caring for your plants, the information in the videos aligns with your experience, and now you’ve figured out what’s going on.

But is this really the answer? Let’s look at what happened in this process that might be misleading.

There’s two important things to know about this process. The first thing is overgeneralisation of diagnostic information that can be shared on social media. While some of the information you see in psychologically informative videos may be correct, it’s also possible that the small feature of a mental health diagnosis has been provided as the key indicator of a disorder. This is a bit like judging a book by its cover; while fidgeting may be a sign of anxiety, it can also be completely unrelated. It’s important that the bigger picture is considered, which is something a psychologist is qualified and experienced in doing.

The second important thing is the matter of confirmation bias. Let’s say after watching the videos that confirmed generalised anxiety disorder is applicable to you, the algorithm has tuned into this, so it continues to provide you with more and more videos about generalised anxiety, which when you watch, reassures you that this must be what’s going on for you.Confirmation bias can be seen in this example where, in tandem with the algorithm, you’re reassuring your beliefs of generalised anxiety disorder without considering what else might be involved. When we do this, we tend to not explore what else might be going on, with a bias towards what we feel most sure of.

Together, the small features of a diagnosis, and the broader picture of what else these features could be related to, need to be taken into consideration alongside many other factors. These factors include lifestyle, physical health, family history and psychological well being. This is where a psychologist may be able to help. By developing an informed and accurate understanding of your mental health, a psychologist can assess any diagnostic features that you may be curious about with the knowledge and professional skills needed to do so. Together, you can explore this with your psychologist in a helpful and therapeutic way.

It’s a wonderful thing to be attentive to your mental health and personal wellbeing, and hopefully through understanding more about how social media can sometimes skew our understanding of psychological diagnoses, you can begin to explore these curiosities through this lens. The psychologists at Excel Psychology are qualified and experienced in working with those who may have diagnostic curiosities about themselves. If social media has perhaps bought up something that you might like to explore with a psychologist, it’s a good time to reach out. You can read more about our team of psychologists here, and make contact with us on our ‘contact’ page.

We’re here to help.