Month: March 2026

For step 3 of our inquiry project, Phoebe and I have created a set of new questions based on our research in order to help us answer our question on self diagnosing and help us deepen our understanding. We will be using google scholar and the UVIC library database to find articles to help us answer the questions below over the next week.

• Which platform is most likely to spread misinformation about mental health or medical conditions?

• How do algorithms influence what symptoms or disorders users believe they have?

• Does exposure to online mental health info/content increase anxiety or reassurance in users?

• Can self diagnosis lead to a confirmation bias?

• In what ways can online self diagnosis be helpful or empowering?

• Can it encourage people to seek help sooner?

• What are the risks of misdiagnosis through online platforms?

• How can it lead to over diagnosis or unneccesary stress
• Are certain groups more vulnerable

• Should AI tools be responsible for preventing harmful self-diagnosis?

• How might self diagnosis change as AI becomes more advanced?
• Could they replace parts of traditional diagnosis?

• How do influencers on TikTok shape people’s understanding of mental health disorders?

For step 4 we are planning on making a mind map on Canva. For the mind map we will put our findings from step 3 into the categories below:

• pros and cons of each platform and brief overview of what they are
• what effects they have psychologically and behaviourally
• Outcomes, benefits vs risks
• Future outcomes like will AI replace traditional diagnosis…

For step 2, I found two articles based on my partner and I’d research question and took some bullet point notes of what I learned. And we also did a self reflection on each of the 3 platform’s while role playing as a user who is self diagnosing themselves based on certain symptoms. My symptoms were feeling anxious, lack of focus, overthinking, and constantly worrying over plans. We created a set of questions for each platform and three questions to help us reflect on all 3 platforms. Below is my self reflection:

TIK TOK

How easy was it to find videos related to the symptoms I searched?  

It was pretty easy, once I searched in my “symptoms” multiple videos showed up from many different users that were either experiencing the same symptoms or Doctors/Professionals discussing what those symptoms might be.

Did the algorithm start showing me similar videos after my initial search?

Yes, after I clicked on a few videos I noticed that the algorithm had added more health related videos into my feed.  

Were any of the videos I found made by actual credited doctors or just influencers/ random users talking about their personal diagnosis or symptoms?  

There was a mix, some doctors or nurses had posted videos related. There were videos educating on several diagnosis as well as users reporting same symptoms and looking for answers from other users.

CHATGPT

Did the conversational format make the information feel more trustworthy? 

When I put in my “symptoms” into chat, the first thing it responded with was ” Im sorry you are experiencing this…I can’t diagnose you but I can go over several possible causes…”

This made me feel almost like I was talking to a real person online and made the conversation more casual and less formal which made me feel like I could trust it. I had a feeling I cant really describe but the conversational format made me feel like that chat got had my best interest in mind when responding in a way which was kind of weird knowing it is not a real person.

GOOGLE

Did I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available? 

Yes, I did. There were more than 10 articles and blog posts I could scroll through that was related to my “symptoms”. Some were saying the same thing, some were going into more detail, and some were saying the complete opposite so it made me feel overwhelmed and I didn’t know which one I should “trust”.

Did the search results include critical medical sources or mostly general websites?

Yes, Most were credited sources like the National Institute of Mental Health, University of California, Mayo Clinic, and Harvard Health.

ALL 3

What was my first impression when trying to diagnose symptoms on each platform?

With Tik-Tok my first impression was being surprised that there were many other users experiencing similar symptoms, and how the Tik-Tok algorithm groups these videos together helping you find information. I also found the short videos to be less overwhelming. With Chat GPT my first impression was feeling overwhelmed because there were so many possible “diagnosis” it gave me when I put in my symptoms. With google, I felt less overwhelmed with my first impression but as I kept scrolling through I felt more and more overwhelmed with the amount of information.

Which platform gave me information the fastest?

Chat GPT gave me the information the fastest but it did not hyperlink any resources or where it was getting that information from like google does but in terms of speed, I’d say Chat.  

Which platform felt most convincing?

This is a hard question because I feel like Chat GPT’s conversational format felt convincing but also being able to see real life people on Tik-Tok, whether they were doctors or users, and hear what they had to say also felt really convincing. Thus, I think I’d have to go with Tik-Tok.

After completing step 2, we are now brainstorming new questions that will help us complete step 3 and support our overall inquiry.