Young adults following physicians on TikTok consider them more accessible, credible and altruistic than their own doctors, even when the physician-influencers are selling products. Moreover, the followers haven’t actually confirmed the influencers’ medical credentials. Those are the main findings of a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University, co-authored by Suzanne Makarem , Ph.D., and published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs.
“Young consumers are usually very literate when it comes to social media influencers and commercial intent. But when you have a physician on TikTok, that becomes something different,” said Makarem, an associate professor of marketing in VCU’s School of Business . “We’re already trained to respond positively to credentialed experts. Now we’re seeing them as ‘these doctors who have busy lives and already make a lot of money – they don’t have to be doing this. They’re taking the time to educate me.’”
“We call it the mere social media presence effect,” Makarem said. “What a physician-influencer recommends may carry more weight than what their own doctor tells them. That should give us pause.”
Why Gen Z and TikTok are ripe for study
Makarem typically studies consumer experiences with healthcare services. She and two colleagues targeted social media for investigation because it’s ripe for health and wellness influencers.
“Gen Zers turn to social media for health information at significantly higher rates than previous generations,” she said, referring to those born between 1997 and 2012. “TikTok has emerged as especially influential for health information.”
In this study, Makarem and her colleagues analyzed 330 TikTok videos, focusing on 11 U.S.-based, licensed medical doctors with significant reach and impact on TikTok – or, according to Makarem, “the mega influencers.” They also interviewed 26 Gen Z participants who actively follow physician-influencers.
A doctor’s coat makes a difference
Reporting on her team’s findings, “We saw they’re a lot like other influencers but lean more toward the professional,” she said. “They’re not singing and dancing like many others, but they do share personal information. And they’re likely to wear medical attire, even if they're not talking about medicine. Like, they're making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in their kitchen, but they have a lab coat on.”
That lab coat and other accoutrements hold sway, she added. “I asked, ‘Have you checked whether these physicians are actual physicians?’ And the response was, ‘No, but I’m sure. They’re wearing a stethoscope; there’s a diploma hanging on the wall; they have scrubs on. I don’t think they’d be lying about this.’”
Moreover, followers see the physician-influencers “practicing what they preach,” she added. “They show themselves at the gym, exercising, using their own products, their own supplements, showing the books they’ve written. So the influencers are making money.”
But young followers are not thinking about the influencers’ financial gains.
“If they do recognize the commercial intent, they say, ‘Well, they have to. If they could do it for free, they would,’” Makarem said.
Another powerful aspect of social media, Makarem said, is comments from other followers. “If you’re reading things like, ‘Thank you, this changed my life,’ then you see the positive impact of the influencer on other people.”
Overall, the researchers report that young people respect TikTok physicians, viewing them as competent, accessible experts.
“We found that the followers have very high adherence,” Makarem said. “They buy the products; they follow the advice.”
Personal physicians are perceived differently
It’s a startling contrast, Makarem said, to the followers’ reported experiences with their own doctors.
“We’d ask and they’d say things like, ‘My physician isn’t interested in preventative medicine. He wants me to keep coming to see him because that’s how he makes money. I have to make a co-pay to see him, and then I get information I can’t understand,’” she said.
Makarem said the study highlights the importance of educating consumers to verify credentials and also to recognize commercial intent, no matter who is doing the selling.
Meanwhile, she added, physicians who have shied away from social media may want to reconsider. Of all the health and wellness influencers on platforms, only about 17% are conventional medical professionals such as doctors, dentists and nurses, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
Credentialed professionals may be in the minority over concerns about legal liability, Makarem said, but “there’s room for them. I understand why physicians are reluctant, but it is a way to be effective. Social media is a very effective platform.”
Journal of Consumer Affairs
When Doctors Become Influencers: How Social Media Presence Disarms Persuasion Knowledge and Shapes Consumer Behaviors
22-Sep-2026