TikTok & Tourette's: Psychogenic Illness in the Digital Age

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians and researchers have identified a significant increase in the number of patients presenting with functional tic-like behaviors (FTLBs). These involuntary motor and vocal tics closely resemble Tourette's syndrome, but with the crucial difference that FTLBs develop later in life and much more suddenly. This paper explores the role of social media usage (specifically TikTok) in the almost "viral" quality many clinicians have noted in cases of FTLBs.