#ActuallyAutistic: Competing Cultures of Expertise and Knowledge in Relation to Autism and ADHD Self-Diagnosis on TikTok

Abstract

In recent times, the micro-video sharing platform TikTok has become extremely popular globally, especially among young people. Psychological and medical topics are among the diverse array of issues addressed on TikTok, sometimes sparking controversies over how “accurate” or helpful the information is. One such issue concerns TikTok content relating to self-diagnosis of neurodivergent conditions such as autism and ADHD. A dominant portrayal of this phenomenon focuses on the possibilities for self-optimisation such diagnoses can offer. In this article, we discuss these issues from a sociomaterial perspective, recognising the gatherings of humans, digital platforms, content, and the affective and relational connections that comprise TikTok assemblages. Digital sociology is brought together with health sociology and the sociology of diagnosis to explore how TikToks about self-diagnosis of ADHD and autism contribute to broader discourses and practices related to self-optimisation. In particular, the socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of health and identity issues on TikTok are highlighted. We delve into the contestations over power and authority as they receive expression both in TikToks and off the platform in medical/“psy” apparatuses of expertise. In so doing, both the possibilities and the limitations for digitised and algorithmic self-optimisation related to self-diagnosis via digital media are identified.