The first and foremost rule regarding health advice on TikTok is that if it’s not coming from an accredited doctor, it’s worthless. Anyone can make a half-hearted effort to parrot back some random health tidbit they picked up from a friend or family member. Still, a lot of health-centric information that gets around in this matter is usually rooted in outdated data or urban legends. If the person in a TikTok video is truly a licensed doctor, you can consider listening to what they have to say. Otherwise, if someone’s throwing out information without a proper source that they have no education in, it’s best dismissed out of hand.
Recently, the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute conducted a study on the accuracy of information from TikTok on gynecologic cancer. Based on the study’s findings, at least 73% of the information retrieved from TikTok was either poorly explained or outright inaccurate. Unfortunately, a lot of this information came from those sharing their battles with cancer, which means that they were not sharing misinformation maliciously, but in a genuine attempt to help others like them.
If you ever need health information, consult a doctor, not TikTok. It may seem more convenient and relatable, but that’s not the same as being correct and safe.