An Analysis of Alopecia Related Content on Instagram and TikTok

December 2022 | Volume 21 | Issue 12 | 1316 | Copyright © December 2022


Published online December 5, 2022

doi:10.36849/JDD.6707

Melissa R. Laughter MD PhDa, Jaclyn B Anderson MDa, Avani M. Kolla BPhilb, Katerina Svigos MDb, Kayd J. Pulsipher BSc, Zainab Mohammodu MD MHSd, Colby L. Presly DOc, Daniel Gutierrez MDb, Prince Adotama MDb, Jerry Shapiro MDb, Kristen Lo Sicco MDb

aUniversity of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
bThe Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY
cCollege of Osteopathic Medicine, Rocky Vista University, Parker, CO
dMeharry Medical College, Nashville, TN

Abstract
Background: Social media platforms continue to grow in popularity and have become common sources of medical information and education for patients struggling with hair loss.
Objective: We sought to determine the characteristics of popular hair loss related content on Instagram and TikTok.
Methods: The top 9 most popular posts within 10 hair loss related hashtags on Instagram and TikTok were analyzed. Quantitative and qualitative analysis was used to evaluate posts from December 2020. The characteristic of the author, content category, and number of likes were analyzed for each post.
Results: Of 90 posts analyzed within Instagram, non-medical professional influencers created 66%, hair and wig companies created 29%, and medical professionals created 4%. Of 100 posts analyzed within TikTok, influencers created 38%, patients created 38%, hair and wig companies created 14%, and medical professionals created 10%. None of the top posts was created by board-certified dermatologists.
Limitations: This study was limited by the extent of data that can be collected from Instagram and TikTok.
Conclusions: A majority of the content promoted hair care products, services, or treatments not substantiated by evidence-based medicine. Instagram and TikTok provide new opportunities for dermatologists to educate the general population on alopecia while simultaneously correcting misinformation.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2022;21(12):1316-1321. doi:10.36849/JDD.6707

INTRODUCTION

Social media has emerged as an increasingly common tool for the mass communication of information. The number of monthly active users surpasses 1 billion for Instagram and 200 million for TikTok.1,2 Paralleling this growth, social media has evolved into an easily accessible, important platform for obtaining health-related information. Social media applications provide space for building virtual communities of support while allowing physicians, influencers, and companies to propagate medical advice or promote products.3,4,5

However, social media-driven medical advice is not without potential concerns. A majority of popular dermatologic content is posted by non-physicians,6 and may vary widely in evidence- based quality and reliability.7,8 Due to the interactive nature of social media, inaccurate information from accounts with little to no medical expertise can be easily amplified with the potential to misguide users and patients. The results of this propagated misinformation can result in adverse health consequences.7,8,6

Hair loss, or alopecia, affects over 50% of men and 40% of women in their lifetime.9 This topic currently has over 280,000 related posts on Instagram alone and may be vulnerable to the spread of misinformation by non-dermatologists.10 Thus, we aimed to evaluate the sources and content of popular hair loss-related information disseminated on the social media applications Instagram and TikTok.
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