Current tonsillectomy trends on social media: A cross-sectional multi-platform content analysis

With patients using social media for information, online perceptions are playing a larger role in patients deciding to pursue treatment. Information consumed on Instagram and TikTok may influence the likelihood of patients to undergo a tonsillectomy. This investigation aims to grade the accuracy and favorability of available information on Instagram reels and TikToks regarding tonsillectomies.

In this cross-sectional study, "tonsillectomy" was searched on TikTok, and "#tonsillectomy" was searched on Instagram. The first 200 videos were independently viewed by two researchers who assessed these videos during a single period, while a third viewer managed data in dispute. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in Excel.

Of 200 TikTok videos, 81.5% were patient experiences and 15.5% educational. Among patient experiences, 36.8% were unfavorable compared with 9.6% of educational videos. There was no significant difference in likes between educational and patient experience content (p = 0.64). Among 200 Instagram reels, 48.5% were consistent with the AAO-HNS Guidelines. Over 50% of reels were posted by patients or parents. Accuracy was 30.1% for patient/parent posts and 92.1% for physician-created posts. Reels were predominantly patient experiences (50.5%) or educational (45.5%), with a neutral tone in 60.5% of reels.

Data presented indicates that users researching tonsillectomies on social media receive largely patient or parent-created content. There was high accuracy with videos posted by physicians, and accuracy declined among patients, parents, and other providers. Mean likes and comments were substantial, with the median much lower, suggesting most information viewed comes from select viral videos.