Medical and wellness guidance floods social media platforms daily — ranging from helpful tips to trendy fads to outright false information — and millions of Americans are turning to these sources for health advice.
Recent findings from the Pew Research Center reveal that roughly 40% of American adults — with about half of those younger than 50 — obtain health guidance through social media platforms or podcasts.
The study examined social media accounts belonging to 6,828 wellness influencers who each have more than 100,000 followers. Results showed that only around 40% actually list credentials as healthcare professionals. Approximately one-third identify as coaches, roughly 30% describe themselves as business owners, and about 10% cite personal experiences such as parenthood as their qualifications.
Even with varying levels of expertise among these content creators, approximately half of people following health influencers reported that the information helps them understand their wellbeing better. About one-third said the content made little impact, while roughly 10% admitted it left them more confused.
Medical professionals recommend approaching fitness, mental health, and personal wellness posts with healthy skepticism. They offer guidance on becoming a more informed consumer of online health content.
Healthcare professionals emphasize that easily accessible credentials on an influencer’s profile serve as the most reliable indicator of legitimacy. They warn against self-proclaimed coaches who cannot demonstrate proper training or certification.
Courtney Babilya, a certified medical exercise specialist and personal trainer with over 430,000 Instagram followers, has observed this pattern in pregnancy-related content. “Someone has a baby and suddenly they’re a pregnancy coach,” she noted.
“We have to be careful with people who have an experience in one thing and suddenly become a ‘coach’ on that,” Babilya explained.
She points out that coaching represents a business approach rather than evidence of professional training. While Babilya discusses her personal chronic illness journey online, she maintains clear separation from her professional guidance.
“You do have an obligation to make sure that you are not giving someone a false idea or spreading a message that isn’t going to be applicable to everyone,” she emphasized.
Medical experts advise taking a step back when content triggers strong emotional responses. For individuals who struggle to access healthcare or feel dismissed by physicians, unconventional advice might seem like the solution they’ve been seeking. The Pew study found that 53% of uninsured individuals obtained health information through social media, compared to 38% of those with insurance coverage.
However, Dr. Fatima Daoud Yilmaz, an OB-GYN at Stony Brook Medicine in New York who creates the popular “Feminine Aisle” video series reviewing drugstore products, explains that legitimate medical information providers online avoid creating fear or shock.
Even when dealing with qualified experts, viewers should consider whether they’re discussing topics beyond their expertise and if their statements align with established scientific understanding.
“All opinions are not created equal when it comes to something such as health or medicine or science,” Daoud stated.
Babilya warns against overstated or absolute statements, particularly in video openings where influencers work hard to capture viewer attention.
Nedra Glover Tawwab, a practicing therapist and author, suggests that cautious language indicates credibility. In her boundary and mental health videos for 1.8 million Instagram followers, she uses words like “maybe,” “sometimes,” and “perhaps” rather than providing diagnoses.
Tawwab advises that feeling like you’ve discovered a diagnosis online signals the need to consult an actual professional.
Social media users should remember that content creators earn money from their platforms — for many, it’s their primary income source.
“It doesn’t mean that all of the information that they put out is biased, but it should tell consumers of that information to take it with a grain of salt because they do have financial incentive to be pushing information like this,” Daoud explained.
Babilya’s platform has become her full-time career and helps support her family. While accepting partnerships and brand collaborations wasn’t an easy choice, it makes her work financially viable.
Babilya emphasizes transparency with her audience and ensures all sponsored content receives proper labeling.
Medical professionals also suggest verifying video sources and looking for high-quality scientific evidence. Some posts lack proper fact-checking, Babilya cautions, referencing studies that don’t actually support the influencer’s claims.
Tawwab recommends applying the same scrutiny used when researching online purchases. Examine broader discussions around the advice similar to reading product reviews.
According to the Pew survey, two-thirds of users encounter this content accidentally rather than actively searching for it.
Ash Milton from the University of Minnesota, who researches how people navigate online mental health information, explains that controlling your feed requires ongoing effort and time.
“You have to work for it because the algorithm is designed to be passive consumption,” Milton noted.
Users can employ Instagram’s “Hidden Words” feature or TikTok’s “Not Interested” option to filter content, though Milton points out that TikTok may not identify exactly which video elements you want to avoid. She suggests using your reactions as guidance to limit content by asking whether the health information truly applies to and benefits your life, or simply feels relatable.
Healthcare professionals strongly recommend verifying any online health information with trusted medical providers before taking action.
Unlike influencers who can make any claims, medical professionals face ethical and legal responsibility for patient care and “may face professional and personal consequences for the advice that they give you,” Daoud explained.
“Ultimately, talk to the medical provider who knows you,” she concluded.
