A high school counselor can track what鈥檚 trending on TikTok by hearing what undiagnosed mental health or neurological condition her students think they have.
An elementary school counselor listens to 3rd graders say they have depression鈥攁 word she鈥檚 pretty sure they picked up on social media.
And more half of teens surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center earlier this year said they have used social media to diagnose their own mental health conditions.
The 24/7 conversation about mental health taking place on sites like TikTok is finding its way into classrooms. To be sure, there are some positive effects: Social media has destigmatized many mental health conditions and encouraged students to be more open about their feelings, educators and experts say. But students are also seeing a lot of potentially counterproductive misinformation.
One way to combat the problem: Teach students to apply the same media literacy skills to the mental health information they see online that they would to a news opinion piece, educators and experts said.
Educators can 鈥渞eally get [students] to kind of do this critical thinking,鈥� said Dan Florell, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University who teaches school psychologists. Have students consider if the video cites a valid study to back up its claims, and if the creator of it has professional credentials in mental health.
Florell even suggested teachers or counselors turn this into a classroom activity. 鈥淥K, let鈥檚 go online and find some TikTok videos that are claiming certain stuff. And then let鈥檚 break it down and see if this is true. And if not, why not?鈥� he said.
As a reporter for 91制片厂视频 Week covering mental health, technology, and the intersection between the two, I asked Florell to put his advice into practice. Earlier this month, I searched TikTok for popular videos offering a range of mental health advice, and then showed them to Florell over Zoom. I asked: Is the source reputable? How do you know? Is the advice sound? How can you tell?
My goal was to give teachers a sense of the mental health content their students see on social media, and to create a resource teachers could use in their classrooms鈥攔ead the video description, ask students what they think, then share Florell鈥檚 take. (This could also be used for professional development.)
Following is a sampling of what I found on TikTok, and how Florell responded. The videos described below were not embedded to avoid amplifying misinformation.
Hawking supplements to relieve ADHD symptoms
Video: A woman in a pajama tank top stands in a kitchen and takes viewers through an 鈥渦nboxing鈥� of the supplements she takes every night that she says help her attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, including magnesium and Vitamin D. She holds up each bottle so that the brand name is clear.
Source: The creator of the video, who has more than 150,000 followers, identifies in her bio as a person with ADHD鈥攁nd that鈥檚 what most of her videos are about.
Florell鈥檚 take: It鈥檚 a good bet the video was made by an influencer who is getting paid to promote certain products, he said.
鈥淎nytime I hear the word 鈥榰nboxing,鈥� I鈥檓 thinking that there鈥檚 a sponsorship involved,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 putting [the video] into the advertising category. Anytime you see an ad, you鈥檝e got to know that they are not necessarily expressing what鈥檚 best for you as the viewer. They are hawking a particular item for sale.鈥�
It鈥檚 unlikely there鈥檚 evidence to back up her claims. 鈥淪upplements are unregulated by the FDA,鈥� Florell said. 鈥淪o even if there鈥檚 some grain of truth to the fact that some of these may be helpful for certain mental health conditions, there鈥檚 probably not been much research on it.鈥�
This song will relieve anxiety
Video: An exuberant man wearing scrubs and a stethoscope quotes research saying that listening to a particular song for just three months could reduce anxiety as much as 65 percent鈥攁 similar level of effectiveness to a class of anti-anxiety drugs known as Benzodiazepines.
Source: The creator, who has over 600,000 followers, identifies himself as an anesthesiologist.
Florell鈥檚 take: The video feels silly, but in this case TikTok may be offering helpful鈥攐r at least not particularly harmful鈥攎ental health advice.
It鈥檚 relatively easy to check the man鈥檚 claim that he鈥檚 an anesthesiologist with a quick Google search, Florell said. (In fact, someone matching the man鈥檚 name and appearance works for a hospital affiliated with a major university.)
While some TikTok creators with real medical credentials may offer advice outside their area of expertise, an anesthesiologist must see plenty of patients who are anxious about surgery鈥攕o he鈥檚 on firm ground here. What鈥檚 more, it鈥檚 not hard to find the real study referred to in the video, which was conducted by another major university and does show that a certain song has a significant calming effect on listeners.
鈥淭he more people鈥檚 statements give you chances to check on [them], the more legitimate [their advice] likely is,鈥� Florell said. But, he cautioned, 鈥減eople misinterpret findings all the time. And you may still have to find that article to make sure鈥� the claims are true.
Unlike taking supplements that haven鈥檛 been prescribed by a doctor, there鈥檚 not much potential downside in listening to a song, Florell added.
鈥淚t鈥檚 minimal risk, and possible high benefits,鈥� Florell said.
Don鈥檛 stop taking your medication without talking to a doc
Video: A young woman (playing herself) tells her doctor that her mental health medication worked so well that she felt great and stopped taking it. The same woman then plays her doctor giving a disapproving double take.
Source: The creator, who has nearly 20,000 followers on TikTok, says she is a pharmacy student. The website she links to in her bio showcases an unrelated hobby, not medical expertise.
Florell鈥檚 take: The creator鈥檚 message is 鈥渁ctually great advice,鈥� he said. But it would be hard for a layperson to know that.
Patients stopping their medication because they feel better鈥攚ithout letting their doctor know鈥攊s a perennial problem in the mental health field.
Even though the woman鈥檚 point is spot on, it would be hard to tell from this video鈥攐r the additional context in her bio鈥攖hat she knows what she鈥檚 talking about. The video is 鈥渘ot presented in a very professional way,鈥� Florell said, because it is obviously meant to be humorous.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 giving the right message, but I would have no way to know that鈥檚 the right message if I wasn鈥檛 a psychologist or someone who works鈥� in the mental health field, Florell said.
People with ADHD don鈥檛 miss their friends when they aren鈥檛 around
Video: A man is talking straight to camera about ADHD. He claims that those who have the disorder don鈥檛 miss their friends when they aren鈥檛 around because they forget about them.
He says: 鈥淧eople with ADHD have the ability that we do not miss anyone. And it is object permanence in a sense and time permanence, that we are almost in a sense blind to this,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 how our brain functions. 鈥� They鈥檙e not texting us. 鈥� we forget about them.鈥�
Source: The creator has more than a million followers. A link to his website identifies him as a mental health advocate but does not list additional professional credentials.
Florell鈥檚 take: The advice in the video is simply 鈥渘ot true,鈥� Florell said. For one thing, most people establish object permanence鈥攖he understanding that something doesn鈥檛 go away just because it isn鈥檛 right in front of you鈥攊n early childhood. It鈥檚 very rare not to have grasped that concept, Florell said. 鈥淪o, he鈥檚 using some buzzwords about psychology, and then taking them to an extreme,鈥� Florell explained.
What鈥檚 more, 鈥渋f I was watching [this video] and taking his word for it, and I have a friend with ADHD, I don鈥檛 feel obligated to ever touch base, because you know, they鈥檙e not going to miss me,鈥� Florell said. 鈥淭heir feelings can鈥檛 be hurt, right?鈥�
But as a school psychologist who has treated patients with the disorder, 鈥淚鈥檝e known a lot of ADHD individuals, I know a lot who feel quite hurt by being excluded,鈥� Florell said.
It鈥檚 unlikely the man in the video is being intentionally misleading, Florell added. Instead, he may be 鈥渞elaying his own experience,鈥� Florell said. What the man describes 鈥渕ay be true of himself, but he is not representative of the millions of people who have this diagnosis,鈥� Florell explained.
Is 鈥榝unctional freeze鈥� a real thing?
Video: A woman sits on a couch with a cheerless expression. Across the screen it says: 鈥淪igns you鈥檙e stuck in a functional freeze: Procrastinating, scrolling, or binge-watching TV when you have free time instead of doing the things you actually want to do. Feeling emotionally numb except for the 鈥榠nternal overwhelm.鈥� Living life just going through the motions but disconnected from your body. 鈥� Follow for tips on how to shift out of this state.鈥�
Source: The creator identifies herself as a 鈥渂urnout dietician鈥� and links to supplements and other health information, as well as a hiking retreat she鈥檚 leading. She has over 140,000 followers.
Florell鈥檚 take: 鈥淔unctional freeze鈥� isn鈥檛 a medical diagnosis, Florell said. And that鈥檚 easy enough to check by going to a reputable health site like the Mayo Clinic. 鈥淵ou can type in functional freeze [on that site], you鈥檙e not gonna get any results.鈥� That means whatever the woman is offering to help the situation is 鈥減robably not going to be legitimate.鈥�
The symptoms described in the video sound more like depression, Florell added. Many people with depression are still able to go about their daily lives, although they sleep a lot in their free time and lack motivation, he said.
Dubious claim that alcohol cures autism
Video: This video is a 鈥渟titch鈥� or reaction to an earlier video. In the first video, a young woman says, 鈥淭he cure to autism is an IV that administers alcohol.鈥� In the second video, another woman says, 鈥淚 have autism and I can confirm this is true because the second alcohol touches my bloodstream, I become a neurotypical person.鈥�
Source: The creator of the first video has more than 40,000 followers. She does not give any professional credentials. The second one has more than 2,000 followers and also, no professional credentials.
Florell鈥檚 take: This is obviously false, and easily fact-checked. 鈥淚 think that would be one you could give a Google search real quick,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd [you鈥檇] probably figure out is not true.鈥�
