The phenomenon began with the concern of many doctors, which was confirmed by a Canadian study conducted by neurologists at the University of Calgary last August, revealing today 20 minutes : TikTok, along with anxiety over Covid-19, would cause nervous tics to develop.

“Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, colleagues working in eight different Gilles de la Tourette (SGT) clinics around the world have witnessed a parallel epidemic of 12-25 year olds (roughly girls and women). Rapid onset of complex behaviors such as Motor and vocal tics,” explains one of the report’s co-authors, neurologist David Martineau.

“In addition to experiencing stress and anxiety related to Covid, these young girls were more likely to be exposed to influencers with tics or Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. (Under the hashtag #TicTok, editor’s note), which was obviously having an effect on themselves.”

group social disease

For the specialist, this can partly be explained by the excessive use made by many social network enthusiasts during the various periods of confinement, in particular TikTok, which has since been known to be a huge success. It should also be noted that if some young girls with these disorders had already experienced anxiety before they were declared, others showed no signs of it and began to develop tics suddenly.

What’s the reason? similarity.

“The content on tics and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome has increased dramatically [sur TikTok], as well as the number of patients with tics in neurology clinics. “We believe this is an example of group social disease involving spontaneously propagated behaviors, emotions, or conditions in a group,” researchers argued last July in a report. “TikTok tics: An epidemic within a pandemic”.

It remains to be seen why young girls are particularly affected, and whether other social networks are to blame as well.