The ADHD diagnosis wave: is TikTok overselling neurodivergence? Pt 1 | Schmeitgeist | ABC Australia

We’re in the middle of a massive ADHD diagnosis wave, but not everyone believes it’s the real thing.

One side of this debate sees it as an out of hand TikTok trend, fuelled by Gen Zs and Millennials in search of identity, attention, meds, or all three.

The other side sees it as the natural consequence of an overdue education - that we’re emerging from the ADHD dark ages, and we’ve still got catching up to do.

The only bit they agree on is that most new cases are getting the idea on social media.

In 2022, prescriptions for ADHD medications in Australia exceeded 3.15 million. That’s two and a half times the number of prescriptions issued in 2018.

There’s also an unprecedented number of people queuing for a diagnosis, and nowhere near enough psychiatrists to see them all.

So the question is, are we overdoing it?

In this episode of Schmetgeist, we test the theory that the ADHD content tsunami is convincing more people than it should, and in turn fueling a mental health access crisis.

Featured:

Sasha, ADHD patient

Cate Osborn AKA Catieosaurus on TikTok, ADHD Educator

Professor Crystal Abidin, digital anthropologist, Curtin University

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