"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. The study was done at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health, and led by Emma Grundtvig Gram, a visiting PhD student from the University of Copenhagen."
"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 content on Instagram and TikTok encourages healthy young men to seek testosterone testing and begin hormone therapy by framing common experiences—fatigue, stress, lower libido or ageing—as testosterone deficiency requiring medical intervention. Accounts with millions of followers promote unproven health claims and downplay serious risks such as heart problems, infertility, kidney issues, blood clots, reduced libido and erectile dysfunction. The content is closely tied to manosphere communities that valorise hyper‑masculinity, dominance and sexual performance. High-reach posts normalise unnecessary testing and treatment, amplify health and fitness misinformation, and use fear and sexual performance messaging to market hormone therapies.
Read at EurekAlert!
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