Latest news with #anti-TikTok
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
TikTok Misinformation Is Warping Young People's Understanding of ADHD
Some 1.8 billion people log into TikTok at least once a month, spending an average of 95 minutes per day being engaged, entertained, and even educated by the app. Those are phenomenal numbers, but a new study shows the platform isn't the most reliable source for information, particularly when it comes to health conditions like ADHD. A team led by researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada found that of the top 100 most-viewed TikTok videos tagged for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) content, fewer than half matched the professional diagnostic criteria for the condition. The videos – which had collectively racked up nearly half a billion views in total – were largely based on personal experience and opinion. They often missed the nuances of ADHD, such as the way symptoms can differ between people. "TikTok can be an incredible tool for raising awareness and reducing stigma, but it also has a downside," says UBC clinical psychologist Vasileia Karasavva. "Anecdotes and personal experiences are powerful, but when they lack context, they can lead to misunderstandings about ADHD and mental health in general." The researchers also ran an experiment using the top 100's five most accurate and five least accurate videos, as judged by clinical psychologists. These 10 clips were then shown to 843 undergraduates taking an introductory psychology course, who were asked to rate them based on their perceived educational value. While the best five videos scored an average of 3.6 from psychologists for accuracy, they only got a score of 2.8 from the students. The worst five videos for accuracy scored 1.1 from psychologists, but 2.3 from students. The implications are clear: there's a significant gap between expert opinions on TikTok's ADHD videos and those of casual viewers. Such potential for misinformation could interfere with the public's understanding of the condition, which could affect how many are diagnosed and treated. "Our findings highlight a discrepancy between mental health professionals and young adults regarding the psychoeducational value of ADHD content on TikTok," write the researchers in their published paper. "Addressing this is crucial to improving access to treatment and enhancing support for those with ADHD." The study also showed that students who viewed more ADHD content in general were more likely to share it with others, and that they were more likely to think that ADHD is more common than it actually is. Content creators on TikTok are rewarded for attracting views rather than providing accurate information, the researchers point out, and they'd also like to see more expert content from health professionals shared on the app. The researchers aren't anti-TikTok, and acknowledge its value in building community and reaching young people. But they're also encouraging TikTok viewers to look for other, more reputable sources of information. "Some young adults turn to TikTok because of access barriers, or negative experiences they have had with mental health professionals," says Amori Mikami, a professor of psychology at UBC. The research has been published in PLOS One. Weight Loss Drug Semaglutide Shows Promise as Alzheimer's Treatment Menstrual Cycles Don't Affect Women's Cognitive Abilities, Study Finds Alzheimer's May Not Actually Be a Brain Disease, Says Expert
The Guardian
29-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Why Trump's change of heart on TikTok? This is about self-interest, not security
When asked for his reasons for delaying the ban on TikTok, President Trump, a man not unfamiliar with changing his mind, said: 'Because I got to use it.' This is quite some change of heart. It was he who, in 2020, signed an executive order citing the 'national emergency' posed by the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform. Five years later, Trump, now positioned as the saviour of TikTok, has said that he has 'a warm spot' for the platform. Coached by his son Barron, Trump amassed 15 million TikTok followers and says the platform is the reason he won the youth vote by 36 points (a claim that is not substantiated). He now claims that Microsoft, among others, is in talks to acquire the app, and that within 30 days he will have news about the future of the platform. But in the meantime, where does this leave the grave national security threat apparently posed by the platform? The arguments are plausible, but evidence is curiously scant. Five years ago, Trump's executive order was overturned in a legal challenge, but his anti-TikTok sentiment was doggedly continued by the Biden administration, culminating in a law that enjoyed bipartisan support. The US supreme court confirmed the ban earlier this month. In the buildup to the law being passed, members of Congress were given a closed-door security briefing on the alleged threat posed by TikTok. The Democratic representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who received that briefing, described the evidence as 'very vague … not convincing' and pointed to a 'lack of substantive information' in the briefing. TikTok makes money by knowing its users, keeping them scrolling for hours, and showing them content that will appeal to them. It also knows their location, IP address, device and can accurately infer gender, sexual orientation, religious views and many other sensitive data points. In this way, it is exactly the same as other large-scale, free-to-use social media platforms. The difference is, that being Chinese owned, the parent company can be compelled to give up that information to the Chinese government. TikTok denies that it has been asked or would comply, but that is the law. There are many reasons for suspicion and discomfort over China and its technical ambitions – from its flagrant offensive cyberoperations such as the hacks of the Office of Personnel Management and Microsoft Exchange, to its strategic approach to gaining dominance in technical standards bodies. The difference in the TikTok case is that a significant proportion of the youthful TikTok users just don't buy the 'reds under the bed' narrative. It's not that they ignore it; some seem to proactively reject it. In the words of one TikTok-er: ''But, but, China's stealing your data!' I don't care. I would drop-ship my DNA to the front door of the Chinese Communist party before I watch an Instagram Reel.' Far from heeding the serious warnings about the potential for Chinese espionage over TikTok, in the run-up to the ban millions of US TikTok users were reported to have joined the even-more-Chinese app Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, after accepting terms of service written in Mandarin. Despite a rich choice of US alternatives, millions are defiantly going more Chinese in their video sharing, not less. Instead of exposing the ideological divides between US and Chinese young people, the engagement on RedNote has opened up exchanges such as 'Nǐ hǎo guys, here's my puppy 😇', that emphasise common ground over the prevailing, dehumanising narratives of mistrust and division. Ever the opportunist, Trump has instinctively understood the public mood among a swathe of young Americans, tuning in to the youthful zeitgeist in ways that elude his fellow over-70s in Congress. What happens next is anyone's guess – a sale to a US corporate going ahead, possible legal challenges to Trump's executive order, maybe even the repeal of the law imposing a ban. The TikTok saga looks set to deliver new twists and turns. For now, however, the platform is back online, pulled back from the brink of oblivion for 75 days. It is bizarre that the TikTok saviour be a larger-than-life figure like Trump – but then, it's somehow so very TikTok. Emily Taylor is an associate fellow in the International Security Programme, Chatham House, CEO of Oxford Information Labs and editor of the Journal of Cyber Policy
