press release
Published: 04 February 2026

Clinician challenges social media ADHD myths as self-diagnosis rates mirror online content surge on new podcast

Two-thirds of social media content about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is sometimes medically inaccurate, yet referral rates for the condition have risen at almost identical rates to online searches since the Covid-19 pandemic, says a clinician from the University of Surrey.  

Credit: Getty Images

In a new season of the Surrey Speaks podcast, which launched on 3 February 2026, Professor Raja Mukherjee argues that this surge is caused by a desire for people to understand their own individual difficulties, leading then in part to a need to develop a sense of personal identity in the face of these difficulties. This, he argues, is partly impacting the huge increase in demand on Neurodevelopmental services. 

The first episode – ADHD: Social Media Myths vs Medical Reality? – looks at the rise of self-diagnosis of ADHD through social media.  

Professor Mukherjee's research shows that, from Covid onwards, social media usage for neurodevelopmental conditions grew exponentially, with clinical referrals mirroring the pattern at a ratio of almost one to one. But the quality of information driving those searches is concerning. 

What we deal with when we deal with psychiatry is symptoms. We take a group of symptoms, we cluster them together, and we say, right, you've had this for long enough. You have this condition. The big problem with that is that the symptoms overlap. And so, you have to have explored beyond just the symptom profiles...They're not doing that on social media. Professor Raja Mukherjee, Lead for Psychiatry, Surrey Medical School

Professor Mukherjee argues that the consequences of inaccurate diagnosis can be serious. If someone with an anxiety disorder is diagnosed with ADHD instead – of which symptoms can often be confused – treatment for ADHD can make their anxiety worse. Professor Mukherjee urges people to seek assessment, not diagnosis.

You shouldn't go for a diagnosis, you should go for an assessment. What you're feeling is that I think I've got something not quite right with me. I want to know what it is. That means that you go for an open-minded assessment to work out what is going on. You don't go in there for somebody to confirm what it is that you think you have from having looked at social media. And this causes us real difficulty, actually, in clinical practice. We have people coming into us, saying, I want a diagnosis of X, and if you don't give them a diagnosis of X, they get really upset with you. Professor Raja Mukherjee, Lead for Psychiatry, Surrey Medical School

The podcast series runs fortnightly until 14 April, with each episode examining a different question where research challenges popular assumptions. Topics include whether juries actually deliver fair verdicts, if veganism is sustainable, how to win the battle for online safety, what quantum computing could actually do and whether the prison system is working.

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Notes to editors

Episode schedule:

1. ADHD: Social Media Myths vs Medical Reality (3 February) – Professor Raja Mukherjee

2. Justice on Trial: Does the Jury System Actually Work? (17 February) – Dr Emily Finch

3. Is Veganism a Fad? (3 March) – Professor Sue Lanham-New

4. How Can We Win the Battle for Online Safety? (17 March) – Professor Nishanth Sastry

5. What on Earth is Quantum Computing? (31 March) – Professor Paul Stevenson

6. How Should Prisons be Run? (14 April) – Professor Melissa Hamilton 

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Professor Raja Mukherjee

Prof Raja Mukherjee

Lead for Psychiatry, Surrey Medical School

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