Sleep, Health, & Wellness Lab Ongoing Research
Social Media, Women, and Insomnia: A Cross-Sectional Study of TikTok Video Content and Quality
Social media has been shown to host and spread significant amounts of health misinformation for a variety of health concerns. One social media app of particular concern is TikTok, due to its immense popularity and the lack of regulations on who can share health information. The risk of health misinformation on TikTok is particularly concerning for women, as they currently face significant difficulties in receiving appropriate care and information regarding their health due to the sex and gender gap in healthcare knowledge and research. This is also concerning for areas of health that are often overlooked or undervalued, such as sleep health and insomnia. Considering these challenges, the aim of this research is to investigate what women with insomnia share on TikTok, as well as to assess whether the information and recommendations being shared on TikTok for women with insomnia are evidence-based.
