FEATURED MEDICAL EDUCATION TOPIC: Self-Diagnosis in the Digital Age: Social Media-Driven Contagion, Internet-Exacerbated Delusion, and AI-Associated Psychosis

What is the problem?

The internet, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI) have reshaped how people seek out medical information — 72% of U.S. adults have looked online for health information, and one in three always search their symptoms before consulting a professional. Physicians need to understand how internet-based self-diagnosis can lead patients to embrace alternative explanations and false beliefs about being medically or psychiatrically ill: more than half of ADHD-related TikTok videos contain inaccurate information, one in four adults now suspect they have ADHD (versus an estimated 6% prevalence), and pandemic-era social media exposure was linked to a tenfold increase in functional tic-like behaviors. Physicians also need awareness of how interactions with AI chatbots, which roughly 1.2 million people per week were using to discuss suicide as of late 2025, have been associated with following potentially dangerous medical advice and reinforcing delusional thinking, now documented in peer-reviewed case reports of new-onset psychosis.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the learners will be able to:

• Explain why patients turn to the internet, social media, and AI-based sources for medical information
• Analyze how medical misinformation contributes to erroneous self-diagnosis, using illustrative case examples
• Recognize risk factors for AI-associated psychosis and related maladaptive patterns of chatbot use
• Apply strategies for assessing and counseling patients presenting with AI-associated psychosis or maladaptive chatbot use

If your medical staff needs an update on Delusion, AI-induced Psychosis, consider contacting our office to book a speaker at 877-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

REFERENCES

Burns A et al. The algorithm is hacked”: an analysis of technology delusions in a modern-day cohort. Brit J Psychiatry (in press).

Pulman A et al. Munchausen by Internet: Current Research and Future Directions. J Med Internet Res 2012;14(4):e115

Frey J et al. TikTok Tourette’s: Are We Witnessing a Rise in Functional Tic-Like Behavior Driven by Adolescent Social Media Use? 

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2022 Dec 5;15:3575–3585

Pierre JM. AI chatbots may validate delusions and delusion-like beliefs. BMJ (in press)