By Joey Kaji, Youth Advisory Council member.
The following reflects Joey’s lived experiences, thoughts, and opinions.
If you have been on social media recently, you have seen the rise of wellness videos and influencers. Between all the technical jargon and the vast amount of knowledge needed to understand health, scientifically backed healthiness has been branded as “boring,” “dry,” or “way too technical.” People turn to sources of information that are exciting, interesting, and more accessible.
To me, health science has a PR problem. While a paper may have more scientific backing and support, it is difficult to sit down and read through it to find the information you are looking for. Right now, it is easier to turn to TikTok and listen to an influencer explain a topic, even if it contains misinformation. Video content from TikTok to YouTube has dominated the media, with 84% of adults using YouTube and 37% using TikTok.
A study compared healthcare workers and the general public regarding which sources of information they deem credible. There was a drastic difference in trust in the scientific community, with 44.4% of healthcare workers and only 28.4% of the general public surveyed finding the information from scientific articles credible. Another drastic difference is where media is consumed, with only 18.4% of healthcare workers and 37.5% of the general public using social networks to seek information.2 These statistics show that now, more than ever, it is crucial that scientifically backed information is not just made available, but palatable to the public.
One example hits close to home, with my grandfather’s prostate cancer diagnosis. While his doctor recommended that he be put on specific drugs to slow the cancer’s growth, a social media influencer had mentioned an intermittent fasting diet online. While intermittent fasting was backed by a scientific paper, there was not enough significant testing for it to be a recommended treatment for cancer. The medication, on the other hand, had undergone rigorous testing with clear and statistically significant results. Even though the doctor encouraged him to take the medicine, my grandfather still elected to fast. It was painted as “natural” even though it hadn’t been tested as regularly. To make use of all the medical research being conducted, it is important that the public sees it.
So, what can be done?
While there are countless papers, journals, and resources at your fingertips on the internet, accessing accurate health information is becoming increasingly difficult. It is important to realize that, while the information is available, it is not necessarily accessible or engaging. To demonstrate the value of accurate medicine, it is crucial that we work with doctors, researchers, and other health professionals to increase its marketability.
From working with short-form video content on ever-popular social media apps like TikTok and Instagram to creating animated videos that depict medicine in a fun way, it is crucial that research is not limited to those with higher education. Simple techniques, like making analogies to avoid the difficult jargon or telling stories to highlight the narratives around medicine, can make it much more interesting and popular.
To accomplish our shared mission of making healthcare more accessible to youth, it is crucial to realize that healthcare information is also facing an accessibility crisis.
[1]https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/11/20/americans-social-media-use-2025