This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Young adults following physicians on TikTok consider them more accessible, credible and altruistic than their own doctors, even when the physician-influencers are selling products. Moreover, the followers haven't actually confirmed the influencers' medical credentials.
Those are the main findings of a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University, co-authored by Suzanne Makarem, Ph.D., and published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs. "Young consumers are usually very literate when it comes to social media influencers and commercial intent. But when you have a physician on TikTok, that becomes something different," said Makarem, an associate professor of marketing in VCU's School of Business.
"We're already trained to respond positively to credentialed experts. Now we're seeing them as 'these doctors who have busy lives and already make a lot of money—they don't have to be doing this. They're taking the time to educate me.'" "We call it the mere social media presence effect," Makarem said.
"What a physician-influencer recommends may carry more weight than what their own doctor tells them. That should give us pause." Makarem typically studies consumer experiences with health care services. She and two colleagues targeted social media for investigation because it's ripe for health and wellness influencers.
"Gen Zers turn to social media for health information at significantly higher rates than previous generations," she said, referring to those born between 1997 and 2012. "TikTok has emerged as especially influential for health information." In this study, Makarem and her colleagues analyzed 330 TikTok videos, focusing on 11 U.S.-based, licensed medical doctors with significant reach and impact on TikTok—or, according to Makarem, "the mega influencers." They also interviewed 26 Gen Z participants who actively follow physician-influencers. The team's findings suggested differences: "We saw they're a lot like other influencers but lean more toward the professional," she said.
"They're not singing and dancing like many others, but they do share personal information. And they're likely to wear medical attire, even if they're not talking about medicine. Like, they're making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in their kitchen, but they have a lab coat on." That lab coat and other accouterments hold sway, she added.
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