By skyforbes 
An Algorithm’s Guide to a Flawed Idea
Ever scrolled through TikTok and had a video about ADHD stop you in your tracks? You watch someone list off a series of relatable struggles: losing keys, zoning out during conversations, and feeling an overwhelming sense of paralysis when faced with a simple task. You nod along, thinking, “That’s me. That’s so me.” Before you know it, the algorithm has you in its grip, feeding you an endless stream of #ADHD content. You start to wonder, “Do I have ADHD?”
While this digital journey of self-discovery can feel validating, there’s a significant problem. According to a 2022 study in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 52% of the information about ADHD on TikTok is misleading; 27% based on personal experience, and only 21% were classified as useful scientific information. That means more than half of the content you’re consuming could be harmful rather than helpful, and a quarter is personal anecdote. This flood of misinformation is amplified by several psychological phenomena that can lead you down a rabbit hole of self-misdiagnosis.
The Illusory Truth Effect:
Repetition Becomes Reality
The first and simplest tool is sheer repetition. Our brains are wired to mistake familiarity for accuracy. That pattern recognition you hear so much about? Patternicity is a human trait. The illusory truth effect is our tendency to believe information is true after repeated exposure. Politicians use this one a lot!.
When you’re constantly seeing videos that frame common human experiences as definitive signs of ADHD, your brain starts to accept it as fact. The more you hear that fidgeting or being messy is a “classic ADHD trait,” the more you internalise it, even if those behaviours are not, in isolation, indicative of a neurodevelopmental disorder.
The Information Cascade:
When Everyone Believes It, It Must Be True
This leads us directly to an information cascade. You see a video with millions of views and thousands of comments saying, “This is so relatable!” or “I got diagnosed because of this video.” It’s natural to assume that if so many people agree, the information must be credible and accurate.
This social proof is compelling; we fear social ostracism, and it can override our critical thinking. We start to base our beliefs on the actions of others, creating a cascade of shared, and often unverified, information. “Everyone knows it’s ADHD”. The problem is that the popularity of ideas, either on or off social media, is not a measure of accuracy.
The Barnum Effect:
Vague Statements That Feel Personal
Many of these viral ADHD videos rely on Barnum statements. These are general assertions that seem tailored to you but are true for almost everyone.
Statements like, “Do you ever feel overwhelmed by your to-do list?” or “Do you struggle to focus on boring tasks?” are not symptoms of a discrete disorder. The idea of a “social battery” that runs out directly because of your undiagnosed ADHD. These are, in fact, near-universal aspects of the human condition. They create a powerful, but false, sense of personal identification with the label being presented.
The Medication Fallacy:
There is no such thing as ADHD specific medication
Perhaps the most powerful anecdote is the person who takes a stimulant and feels their mind “go quiet”, followed by tears in the car, finally knowing what the issue has been all these years and taking this as definitive proof of their diagnosis. Stimulants are cognitive enhancers that can improve focus and reduce mental noise in almost anyone, regardless of a diagnosis. A drug’s effect is a pharmacological action; it is not a diagnostic tool. Inferring the cause of a problem from the mechanism of its solution is like arguing headaches are caused by an aspirin deficiency.
The Flawed Foundation:
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
This entire online ecosystem is built around a circular logic that points back to official diagnostic manuals like the DSM.
These manuals are not explanations of proven biological conditions; they are subjective checklists of behaviours.
The online content creates simplified versions of these checklists. You relate to the checklist, which in turn makes you feel you fit the official criteria, creating a self-fulfilling loop. This creates circular logic. The “test” asks questions that mirror the DSM criteria, and then the content tells you that if you relate to these things, you might have ADHD.
You are not discovering a medical condition; you are learning to map your experiences onto a pre-existing, descriptive script. When we see a rise in diagnosis rates, people naturally think there is better understanding and information, that their diagnosis was real, that this is, in fact, a neurotype. In truth, this is a descriptive diagnosis, subjectively given, relying heavily on self-report.
So, What’s the Harm?
If I identify this way, what’s it to you?
The unchecked spread of misinformation can be dangerous. It can lead to anxiety, a misinterpretation of normal personality traits as pathology. Your struggles are likely real.
The harm lies in adopting a questionable and scientifically flimsy identity because an algorithm, designed to create belief, sold it to you so effectively. An algorithm’s goal is not to provide you with truth; it is to keep you engaged by feeding you a simple and compelling story.
Accepting that story as the definitive explanation for who you are will rob you of your agency and the most needy of access to finite resources.
when, in truth, it may only be a popular fiction.