Health advice on TikTok and Instagram: How to help teens know who to trust

It can start with a fitness video, a skincare routine, a “what I eat in a day” post or a mental-health clip. Your teen watches one, and then the feed starts serving more.

Recent surveys show just how often health content reaches young people online and can influence their decisions. The issue isn't only whether that advice is true or false, but who teens trust, how the content shapes the way they see their bodies and health, and the choices they make because of it.

Key takeaways:

• Health and wellness advice often reaches people who weren't actively looking for it.
• Credentials matter: A large following doesn't necessarily mean someone is qualified to give health advice.
• Parents can teach teens to check who's behind a health claim, whether they're selling something and what trusted sources say.
• Pay attention not only to what your teen is watching, but also to how repeated health and wellness content makes them feel.

 How teens get health advice on TikTok and Instagram

New research shows just how common health content has become on social media, and how often people encounter it without looking for it.

A 2026 NORC survey of 1,017 U.S. teens found that 76% had seen health-related content on social media in the previous three months. Meanwhile, Pew Research Center found that 67% of Americans who get health and wellness information from influencers mostly happen to come across it, rather than actively looking for it.

Younger adults are particularly likely to encounter fitness and mental-health content. Among 18- to 29-year-olds who get health information from influencers, 51% often hear about fitness and 39% about mental health and well-being. That advice can take many forms: a “what I eat in a day” video, a skincare routine, supposed signs of ADHD, a muscle-building supplement or the latest sleep hack.

And what teens see can influence what they do. According to NORC, nearly 6 in 10 teens said social media had influenced a health-related decision, including what they eat, how they exercise, or whether to use supplements, performance-enhancing products or injections.

It can also affect how people feel about their health. More than a third (36%) of 18- to 29-year-olds who get health and wellness information from influencers say it has made them more worried about their overall health.

Can you trust health and wellness influencers?

Pew analyzed 6,828 health and wellness influencers with at least 100,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. 41% described themselves as some type of healthcare professional.

Meanwhile, 31% described themselves as coaches and 28% as entrepreneurs or business owners. Another 13% cited personal experiences such as having a medical condition, losing weight, improving their fitness or caring for someone else. And 16% didn't mention any background or expertise in their profiles at all.

Personal experience can absolutely be useful. Hearing another person's story can help someone feel understood or introduce them to an issue they want to learn more about.

But experience isn't the same as expertise.

Interestingly, audiences themselves aren't completely convinced. Just 10% of people who get health and wellness information from influencers say they trust all or most of it. Most (65%) say they trust some of what they see.

How health and wellness content can affect teens

Health content isn't inherently bad, 54% of people who get health and wellness information from influencers say it has helped them better understand how to be healthy.

But parents should also pay attention to how the content makes their child feel and behave. A feed filled with bodies, diets, symptoms, transformations and things that supposedly need "fixing" can change what feels normal.

Your teen may start worrying excessively about ingredients, calories or weight. They may become convinced that normal feelings or behaviors are signs of a disorder. They may constantly compare their skin or body with people online, start buying supplements or products they don't need, or become anxious that something is wrong with their health.

Ask yourself: Is this content helping my child take care of themselves, or making them increasingly worried about themselves?

How to help teens spot trustworthy health advice online

Give them a few questions they can use themselves:

Who is this person? Look beyond the username and follower count. What qualifications do they actually have, and are those qualifications relevant to what they're talking about?

What are they really claiming? There's a big difference between "this helped me" and "this will work for you."

Are they selling something? A creator may earn money from a supplement, skincare product, coaching program, app or affiliate link they recommend. That doesn't automatically make the information wrong, but your teen should know when advice and advertising overlap.

Can we check this somewhere else? If a claim concerns health, nutrition or mental health, see whether reputable medical organizations or healthcare professionals say something similar.

And perhaps most importantly: Does this need a professional? Social media can be a starting point for questions. It shouldn't be the place where a teenager diagnoses or treats a health problem.

How to reduce unwanted health content on TikTok and Instagram

Encourage your teen to unfollow or mute accounts that repeatedly make them uncomfortable or anxious. They can use options such as "Not interested" when platforms provide them, avoid repeatedly watching or interacting with unwanted content, and deliberately follow more reliable sources.

But changing the feed is only part of the picture. Health and wellness content can also encourage teens to click links, visit websites, take online quizzes, sign up for offers or buy products they discover through social media.

Some of those links may lead to legitimate websites. Others can expose teens to scams, phishing attempts, or malicious pages designed to steal personal or financial information.

Bitdefender Family Plans add another layer of protection, helping keep your teen safer from scams, phishing, and malicious links as they explore the digital world.

And while you help your teen learn what to trust online and make safer choices, Bitdefender helps protect them from online threats that aren't always easy to recognize.

Learn more about Bitdefender Family Plans.

You may also want to read:

• What parents need to know about tanmaxxing
• Your teen outgrew parental controls. Now what? How to keep teens safe online
• Should Parents Follow Their Teenagers on TikTok?
• How AI and extreme media affect teen mental wellness

FAQs

Can teens trust health advice on TikTok and Instagram?

Some health advice on social media comes from qualified professionals, while other content comes from coaches, influencers or people sharing personal experiences. Teens should check a creator’s credentials, whether they are relevant to the topic, and whether reliable health sources support the claim.

How can teens tell if a health influencer is trustworthy?

Look at who the creator is, what qualifications they have and whether they provide credible sources for their claims. A large following, professional-looking videos or personal experience do not necessarily mean someone is qualified to give health advice.

Why does TikTok keep showing my teen health and wellness content?

Recommendation systems use signals such as what people watch and interact with to decide what to show them next. Watching or engaging with fitness, diet, skincare or mental-health content can therefore lead to more similar content appearing in the feed.

What should parents do if their teen believes health advice they saw online?

Ask to see the post and check the claim together rather than immediately dismissing it. Look at who created it, compare the advice with reputable health sources, and speak with an appropriate healthcare professional if your teen has concerns about their physical or mental health.

How can teens see less unwanted health content on social media?

They can unfollow or mute accounts, use options such as “Not interested,” avoid repeatedly interacting with unwanted content and follow more reliable sources instead.