THE SOCIAL MEDIA MIRROR

TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM VIDEOS ARE LEADING MORE WOMEN TO SELFDIAGNOSE WITH FORMS OF NEURODIVERSITY SUCH AS ADHD AND AUTISM. BUT EXPERTS ARE WARY OF NUANCELACKING MENTAL HEALTH CONTENT MADE FOR VIEWS. WH REFLECTS ON THIS GROWING ISSUE.

- LAUREN KROUSE 

Throughout her life, Caitlin Manner, 39, has been surrounded by people whose brains work in unique ways. Her mom, dad, sister, brother and one of her sons all have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD). Her oldest and youngest are on the autism spectrum. She thought she was the exception until she went on TikTok.

A busy mom in a military family, Caitlin struggled to manage her sons’ medical appointments on top of school, sports and the housework. She tried keeping open planners in her bedroom, office and kitchen to ensure she didn’t forget anything. But in the early months of 2021, she missed a crucial appointment that her oldest needed to continue speech therapy. The family’s health insurance company made them jump through all sorts of hoops to get coverage, and they’d already waited weeks for a coveted slot. Now, they'd have to wait three months to snag a new one. It was really frustrating because I knew how important it was and still couldn’t keep track of it,” says Caitlin. Despite her best efforts, her system wasn’t working.

It was mid-pandemic and, like many of us desperate for a social outlet during that time, Caitlin started spending more time on TikTok. It was a life preserver for those long days,” she says. Videos about ADHD began to pop up on her For You page FYP), recommendations pulled by TikTok’s algorithm. Caitlin found herself relating to others’ stories like how she could hop from chore to chore, never quite finishing any of them. And by the end of the day, my house is a fricking mess and I haven’t accomplished anything,” she recalls, quoting a video. When Caitlin heard that, she thought: This is me.