Spark 53:59 Being Human Now 9 - Wellness It's "scroller beware" on #mentalhealth TikTok, where content ranges from informed to misleading, and has the potential to be both helpful or harmful, mental health caregivers say. Jonathan Shedler, a psychologist and clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, says he's concerned about the quality of mental health information on social platforms. "Unfortunately, what we now have is a lot of people who are representing psychology .
.. who are influencers or digital marketers, who are not serious psychotherapists," said Shedler, who holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Michigan.
"And as flashy and appealing as the messaging is ...
it's really not a good source of information." Social media has been called the psychiatrist couch of Gen Z. There's a seemingly bottomless well of self-proclaimed experts on platforms like TikTok and Instagram sharing content about how to establish boundaries, cope with being triggered, identify toxic behavior and sever ties with a narcissist.
Many mental health professionals have praised TikTok for destigmatizing mental illness and helping people who don't have access to therapy. But the platform has also been criticized for encouraging self-diagnosis, over-using labels and for legitimizing misinformation. More than half misleading A study published by UBC in early 2022, found that, of the 100 most popular TikTok videos about ADHD, more than half — 52 per cen.
