Youth mental health: Beware of advice videos on TikTok

In an investigation published this weekend, The Guardian highlights the problematic nature of mental health videos on TikTok . Several health experts are concerned about the vague and inaccurate content shared on the social network. According to the British daily, more than half of the most shared videos on TikTok addressing mental health contain elements of misinformation. Of the 100 videos analyzed by The Guardian and referenced by the hashtag #mentalhealthtips, 52 contained false or inaccurate information. This content, supposedly helping its audience manage disorders such as depression, anxiety, or trauma, worries psychological experts, who fear that young people will come away with a misunderstanding of mental health issues.

Some videos offer rather unusual remedies, such as eating an orange to relieve anxiety, or basil to heal from trauma in less than an hour. Furthermore, some influencers present completely normal emotional experiences, such as sadness or fatigue, as symptoms of borderline personality disorder or abuse, without any medical baggage.

Amber Johnston, a qualified psychologist who participated in the investigation, told The Guardian that the dissemination of these videos contributes to the construction of a reductive and "standardized" view of complex mental illnesses. She reveals that in reality, "the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma are very individual experiences, which cannot be compared from one person to another and which require the intervention of a trained clinician to help an individual understand the individual nature of their distress."

The spread of this type of content is all the more worrying given that 25% of TikTok users worldwide are between the ages of 18 and 24, according to the data tool Data Reportal . In France, according to the social media analysis tool Visibrain , nearly 90% of mental health-related content published on TikTok in 2024 was posted by people outside the health field. This lack of professional commentary leaves room for individual, unverified impressions, and can neither guarantee nor replace professional support adapted to the proper treatment of mental health disorders.

In response to the investigation, TikTok claims to be working closely with organizations like the World Health Organization and the UK's National Health Service. This would lead to a "98% reduction in harmful misinformation before it's even reported to the platform," according to a TikTok spokesperson interviewed by The Guardian . The site also boasts of having a " wellness guide " on its platform, accessible by searching for "mental health." However, this approach remains largely insufficient, according to experts.