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On Instagram, four out of every 10 women’s health posts are ads

A woman in her 40s scrolls through Instagram. Between photos of friends, recipes and holiday snaps, she comes across a video about perimenopause. The woman on screen explains perimenopause is to blame for feeling tired, having trouble remembering things, struggling to sleep or gaining weight.

Another post promises to “balance” her hormones.

A third recommends a supplement that could help her symptoms.

All this advice feels personal, reassuring and easy to understand. It provides a simple explanation and potential solution to help her feel a bit more vibrant.

But what’s really behind these types of posts?

We set up a new Instagram account to find out.

What did we do?

Women are increasingly turning to social media for information about their health. But we know surprisingly little about the broader mix of content they encounter.

So, late last year, we created a new Instagram account, searched #womenshealth and sampled the first 500 posts that appeared in the feed.

At the time there were more than 8.8 million posts under this hashtag. Now there are 9.6 million.

After removing duplicates and faulty links, we had a final sample of 472 posts. We looked at the topics discussed, who was posting, whether posts made health claims, whether there was a financial interest, and whether scientific evidence was mentioned.

What did we find?

In our newly published study, we show how hormonal and reproductive health was the most common topic, appearing in almost half of all posts. Menopause and perimenopause alone accounted for 12 per cent of all posts.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of all posts were by individuals. Of those with individual accounts (rather than a company or organisation account), more than half (55 per cent) were alternative health professionals such as health coaches and naturopaths. Some 35 per cent of the individual influencers were qualified medical doctors.

There was also a strong commercial presence. More than half (51 per cent) of account holders had a clear financial interest in what was being discussed. A total of 39 per cent of all posts were selling a product or service directly. Company accounts made up 16 per cent of all posts.

Health claims were common. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of posts made an explicit health claim, yet only 7 per cent referred to scientific evidence.

Why does this matter?

Social media can be genuinely useful. It can help women find communities, share experiences and learn about health issues that have historically received less attention. The growing visibility of menopause online, for example, can help reduce stigma and give women a place to discuss their experiences.

But the same features that make social media engaging can also make the health information discussed persuasive.

A familiar influencer sharing a personal story can feel more trustworthy than a medical information sheet. When that story is combined with a product recommendation, the line between health education and advertising can become blurred.

Our study did not assess whether specific health claims were accurate. But the combination of frequent health claims, financial interests and very limited reference to scientific evidence is concerning.

We cannot say for certain the same pattern exists across other platforms. However, we’ve seen similar concerning trends in other recent studies across both Instagram and TikTok.

We know, from large-scale reviews, that misleading health information is common across social media platforms. We also know social media influencers can impact an individual’s health behaviour.

What can I do?

The answer is not necessarily to stop using social media.

Instead, it may be worth being a little more sceptical about women’s health content when it appears.

You can ask:

• Who is giving me this advice?
• What are their qualifications?
• Are they selling something?
• What evidence are they referring to?
• Does the claim sound too good to be true?

A personal story can be valuable, but one person’s experience isn’t necessarily evidence that something will work for you.

If a post is encouraging you to get tested or start, stop or change a treatment, it is worth taking it to a qualified health professional.

But social media platforms need to act too

Our findings suggest social media platforms cannot leave women to navigate this environment on their own.

Instagram and other platforms could flag posts that are advertising or marketing. Current disclosure methods rely too heavily on account holders being honest about what’s behind their posts. This makes it difficult to police predatory marketing and the promotion of false health information.

There is also a role for health professionals. Patients are turning up to their consultations with health information and requests based on what they’ve seen on social media. So qualified professionals, free from vested interests, could be part of these online conversations. They could post their own evidence-based content, rather than leaving the space largely to influencers and companies.

Proposed new legislation in Australia could also give women greater control over algorithmically curated feeds, potentially reducing the amplification of misleading health content.

The bigger picture

The problem is not that women’s health information is discussed on social media. This is crucial for increased awareness and education of previously dismissed or ignored issues.

We’re concerned that women’s health is too important to be treated as another opportunity for engagement and sales.

About the authors: Brooke Nickel is an NHMRC emerging leader research fellow at the school of Public Health at the University of Sydney, and Tessa Copp is an NHMRC emerging leader research fellow in Reproductive Health at the school of public health at the University of Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.