May 07, 2026
Source/Image licensed from Ingram Image
Half of American adults get health and wellness info from social media influencers, a new Pew Research Center report finds. But very few of them say they trust most of the information the influencers provide.
About half of U.S. adults get health information from social media influencers and podcasts – even though the majority of these influencers do not identify themselves as health care professionals, a new Pew Research Center report found.
To examine how Americans are using social media for medical advice, the report looked at YouTube, TikTok and Instagram accounts for nearly 7,000 health and wellness influencers, each with 100,000 followers or more. The researchers also surveyed 5,000 people about their experiences with health and wellness influencers on social media.
Half of adults under 50 – and 40% of older adults – reported that they had gotten health information via influencers. But just 17% of these influencers described themselves in their social media profiles as doctors, dentists or nurses. Only 4% described themselves as mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists or social workers, and 6% as dietitians or nutritionists.
Only 1 in 10 people who turned to these influencers said they trust all or most of the information they received, and 24% said they trust little or none of the advice.
So why are so many people using social media health and wellness influencers?
People without health insurance were more likely to get health and wellness information from social media and podcasts – one of the report's most significant findings. Though 40% of adults reported using content from health influencers, 53% of uninsured respondents reported doing so.
People of color reported turning to health influencers more often than white people. Among the respondents, 47% of Hispanic people and 44% of Black people said they consumed influencer content, compared to 35% of white people.
About 20% of people of color said a major reason they used social media as a source was to learn about things they don't want to ask their doctors about, compared to 10% of white people who said the same.
In general, people reported hearing most often from influencers about fitness, weight loss, beauty and personal appearance.
Among the influencers reviewed by the researchers, 64% were women, 34% were men and the gender of 2% was unknown.
Other takeaways:
• 41% of respondents said they used information from influencers, because they wanted to make a health or lifestyle change.
• One-third of adults, ages 18 to 29, said they tuned into health and wellness influencers mainly for entertainment.
• Two-thirds of consumers said they came upon the health and wellness information rather than seeking it out.
• About 1 in 5 users said the information they get from influencers is extremely or very different from the information they get from health care providers.
