Potato juice instead of antibiotics. Using beer in lieu of sunscreen. Shoving a garlic clove up your nose for sinus trouble. These are some of the remedies you might find on TikTok. The internet and quackery are not new concepts, but health advice – both good and bad – is a hot ticket item on social media platforms, especially for Gen Z. In fact, according to a recent study, a third of Gen Z-aged TikTok users trust that app more than their doctors. We look at what happens when TikTok is your doctor, and hear from you: have you used social media to diagnose an ailment or get medical advice? How did it go?
When TikTok is Your Doctor
We look at what happens when TikTok is your doctor. (SOPA Images via Getty Images)
Guests:
Keren Landman, senior reporter covering public health, emerging infectious diseases, the health workforce, and health justice, Vox
Jessica Malaty Rivera, science communicator and infectious disease epidemiologist; science communication lead, The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic; her social media feed came to prominence during the pandemic
Dr. Jen Gunter, OB/GYN and pain medicine physician; author, "The Vagina Bible"
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