Young men are being encouraged to undergo testosterone testing and start hormone therapy through Instagram and TikTok content that promotes unproven health claims while downplaying medical risks, a new international study has found.
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Published in Social Science & Medicine, the study analysed 46 high-reach Instagram and TikTok posts promoting testosterone tests and treatments. The accounts behind these posts had a combined audience of 6.8 million followers and generated more than 650,000 likes.
The researchers found the content was closely linked to the online manosphere, a cluster of online communities that promote narrow, hyper-masculine ideals and frame men’s health, identity and success through dominance, physical strength and sexual performance.
“Influencer marketing is reframing everyday experiences like fatigue, stress, lower libido or ageing as signs of testosterone ‘deficiency’ that requires medical intervention,” said Dr Brooke Nickel, senior author on the study and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health.
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“What we’re seeing isn’t health education, it’s marketing and fearmongering dressed up as medical advice,” said Dr Nickel.
