Study shows that half of US adults under 50 get health advice from influencers

Whether you were looking for it or not, you probably came across a video on social media this week about a report Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. Maybe it was someone identifying people who died on the plane or others who fell ill — or maybe it was a health influencer explaining exactly what hantavirus is.

But how can you trust that these influencers are presenting the facts? One way is to check their credentials. But it turns out that many influencers have no influence.

According to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center, 41% of influencers are in the health and wellness field They claim to be healthcare professionals17% said their background was in conventional medicine, 7% in allied health (such as physical therapists or physician assistants), 7% in complementary or integrative health (chiropractors or acupuncturists, for example), 7% as nutritionists or dietitians, and 4% in mental health. Pew identified 6,828 influencers with at least 100,000 followers on YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram and examined their profiles.

The study also found that these influencers often reach large audiences, with 1 in 10 having more than a million followers.

This is why the combination of broad reach and limited trust can pose a serious problem for followers.

Who’s watching?

Because not everyone on the Internet is an epidemiologist, misinformation can and does spread, especially when a major health news event like the Hantavirus breaks. CNET did a deep dive last year How and why does misinformation spread so quickly, but who is consuming it?

According to the Pew study, which also included two surveys of U.S. adults, half of U.S. adults under 50 say they take advice from health and wellness influencers or podcasts.

The quality of advice provided by influencers and podcasts can vary greatly. Some influencers are doctors or other professionals who offer thoughtful, evidence-based advice. Not everyone is like that. Take Brian Johnson, known as the “Liver King,” who promoted eating raw meat for a healthy lifestyle and building muscle, only for it to become so. Find out later He was taking performance and image enhancing drugs (steroids). Another example is Dalia Carisi, known as “Dr. Dayla” on social media, who later… He was convicted of pretending to be a doctor In Australia.

Furthermore, the Pew study found that while misinformation is spreading, so is health anxiety among some groups, especially young people. The study found that about 36% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 say consuming this type of content makes them more anxious. Adults over 50 years of age were less likely.

As with everything you see on the Internet, be careful what you watch, because most of the time, you don’t really know who is providing the information – or where it is coming from.