Want to lose weight? live longer? Reduce your stress levels, control your blood sugar or optimize your sleep? An influencer wants to tell you how to do it. And a new report shows that many Americans are listening.
Half of American adults under 50 are now getting health and wellness information from influencers or podcasters, according to An analysis published on Thursday By Pew Research Center. The report, which analyzed the profiles of nearly 13,000 health and wellness accounts with at least 100,000 followers on social media, also provides a window into who is actually giving the advice.
Less than one in five were traditional medical professionals, such as doctors, dentists or nurses. Many people listed another qualification in their biography, describing themselves as a diet or life coach, entrepreneur or parent.
The study found that these accounts had a wide reach: 8 percent had more than one million followers. And nearly half of consumers of this content said influencers have helped them better understand how to stay healthy.
“We’re grossly underestimating wellness influencers,” said Maria Wellman, who studies digital wellness communities at Michigan State University. “They now shape not only what we buy or wear,” he said, but also “influence our lifestyle choices, what we put into our bodies.”
The fact that many of the most influential health creators are not part of the medical establishment is not entirely surprising, said Rachel Moran, a health misinformation researcher at the University of Washington. In fact, this may be a big part of their appeal.
trust in government health agencies falling since the pandemicAnd while most Americans still trust their doctors’ health recommendations, their share has also declined in recent years.
Coaches and entrepreneurs, who make up about 60 percent of top influencers, are able to toe the line, Dr. Moran said. They can claim professional health experience without being seen as part of the establishment.
Nearly one in five accounts did not provide any explanation as to why they qualified to post on health and wellness topics. Nevertheless, they managed to gain a large number of followers on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
“They didn’t need to establish that kind of credibility or expertise to garner that audience,” said Galen Stocking, associate director of research at Pew.
Some of the influencers with the most followers include Jay Shetty, who trained as a monk and now posts mental health advice; Dr. Muneeb Shah, a dermatologist who posts about skin care; and Jen Selter, who posts about fitness and healthy breakfasts.
Pew researchers found that some influencers cited their personal experiences, such as managing their own medical condition or being a parent, as their primary competency.
Dr. Wellman said she understands why personal anecdotes are so compelling. His previous research has found that vulnerability and transparency are becoming increasingly important factors in people’s decisions about who to trust for health information. Sharing your weight loss experience or cancer diagnosis is a fast way to build trust.
But there are dangers in applying someone’s personal experience to your life, Dr. Moran said.
“Part of the misinformation comes, not necessarily because something is not true, but because it cannot be generalized,” he said.
Users reported hearing about a variety of topics: weight loss, mental health, dietary supplements, personal appearance and more. Dr. Wellman, who has studied these influencers since 2016, when content was primarily focused on fitness, said this shows how widespread the wellness industry has become.
The new report did not examine whether the influencers’ posts were evidence-based. But in a follow-up survey, researchers found that nearly 20 percent of Americans who consume wellness content online said the information was “extremely or very different” from the advice of their own medical providers.
Many doctors and public health experts are wary of the rise of wellness influencers, who are often behind viral health misinformation, such as claims that sunscreen causes cancer and that nicotine can reverse Alzheimer’s.
Some doctors have tried to compete online for the trust and attention of social media users, either by creating their own explanatory content or by debunking misinformation from other content creators.
Last month, the American Medical Association launched a new podcast, “health vs publicityWhich aims to fact-check the wellness trends and health claims of the influencers who fill our social media feeds every day.
Although some physicians have gained large audiences online, they are still in the minority.
Health Misinformation Researchers suspect that the answer is a flood of more medical professionals onto social media. Dr. Wellman cautioned that he would have difficulty reaching those who did not already agree with him.
Dr. Moran said they also have to grapple with an uncomfortable truth on the Internet: Nuanced, evidence-based health information often falls short of the promise of a miracle cure or the personal anecdote of an influencer.
“They provide certainty: ‘Buy this product, take power over your life like this, sign up for this program of mine,'” Dr. Moran said. “Medicine can’t always provide you with that.”
