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A lot of the time anything we do or eat is often influenced, not by experts in their fields, but by influencers. Influencers are folk who have managed to garner a massive following because of the videos/reels they upload onto Facebook and Instagram. The bigger their following the more influential they are. Are they experts in their fields? In most cases they are not. They are people who other people seem to listen to and follow because they see images of those people supposedly following their own advice.
Did you ever see the movie, ‘Legally Blond’, starring Reese Witherspoon? The young fitness influencer the lawyers are defending claimed that her physique was as a result of her following her own food and fitness regime. But we later learn that it wasn’t her food and exercise regimen at all but liposuction which she secretly underwent on a regular basis! So she was deceiving her clients to make money. Although this is just a fictional character I am now more certain than ever that this is more about fiction relating what actually happens in real life.
We all know that with advances in AI and the ability to use Photoshop and other software to manipulate videos and images, anything can be made to look like anything or anyone. What many of us are seeing on social media of late is testament to that. It used to be said that seeing is believing but believing what you are seeing is a big question now and everyone should question what is being shown to them.
This is especially important when it comes to your health. Unfortunately there are far too many people around the world who don’t have access to free healthcare or even have health insurance. So they rely solely on the internet to give them a diagnosis and treatment options. The number of posts I see from people on social media asking for health advice from group members is astounding.
I feel very sorry for them but at the same time I feel they are very irresponsible asking for a diagnosis from random people in random groups. What makes it even more worrisome is the fact that some of the health issues for which they seek online advice could actually be life-threatening.
I also find it very odd when doctors begin to give medical advice on social media. Theirs is not always about directing them to their medical practice for further evaluation. It’s almost a final diagnosis and what the patient should do to help themselves. Honestly, in my opinion, such advice is rather risky because what these doctors are effectively doing is turning themselves into online medical dictionaries and that’s not a good thing if a person is looking for a diagnosis for something they have.
Did you ever have a medical dictionary at home?
I remember us having one when I was in my teens. Whenever I felt something I’d go to this dictionary and I swear to you I thought I had every symptom described in there which made me feel very scared and anxious, and very weepy. I never read a medical dictionary again.
In my humble opinion, those doctors who dispense advice on reels and videos have turned themselves into influencers. A lot of them are unknown but have become famous because their videos get countless views and ‘likes’ even if the advice they dispense may or may not be completely accurate.
One doctor on YouTube claimed that having a heart arrhythmia later in life is not hereditary claiming that, if it was, even a baby would have it. He is, of course, wrong. He was clearly displaying poor medical knowledge and if someone can make a mistake that basic, what else can they be wrong about?
This, of course, applies to all influencers who are influencers because of the ‘likes’ and views they get, not because they’re experts. They do what they do to get ‘likes’ and views which, in turn, translates to monetisation. Unfortunately, social media platforms that offer monetisation as an incentive to post have created a dangerous level of misinformation. There’s no fact checking and if it does happen, it’s often much too late.
