Young Aussies now trust influencers more than medical doctors

An alarming study has found young Aussies are placing their health in the hands of influencers instead of GPs, and doctors are not impressed.

A war is waging between doctors and influencers, after a new study revealed one in four Australians would rather seek health advice from their social media idols rather than their General Practitioner.

Survey data collected by Heart Smart Australia showed Gen Zs and Millennials preferred to use influencers as their go-to source for health advice, regardless of their qualifications.

The findings revealed that young Aussies were far less concerned about health credentials, and were more likely to trust and follow the advice of an influencer if they sympathised with their opinions or were impressed by the number of followers they had.

Cardiologist and preventive health expert Dr Ross Walker said the results were deeply concerning for the medical community, as influencers had “absolutely no knowledge of what they’re talking about.”

“All of us (GPs) have seen this disturbing trend develop over the past decade or so. We saw it best during the pandemic when there were lunatic anti-vaxxers spreading propaganda … it was very disturbing,” he said.

Fitness influencer Dmitriy Stuzhuk influencer who thought COVID-19 did not exist, died aged 33 after contracting the virus in a stark warning to the Australian anti-vax brigade.

“Because someone's prominent, people think their opinions are worthwhile but just because someone is an influencer, doesn’t mean their opinions mean anything.

“When you look at the numbers it’s just appalling. The younger the person is, the more they are influenced and they're not getting proper medical advice.”
Major social media platforms TikTok and Instagram are flooded with fitness models, skin clinicians, dietitians and wellness coaches, ready to share their precious life secrets with followers.

Dr Ross Walker, Cardiologist, in his Lindfield practice. Picture Craig Greenhill

Veteran influencers include the Gold Coast’s Ashy Bines, who’s empire following has allowed her to stay ahead of the curve for more than a decade, as well at notable Aussie duo Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw and their cult Keep it Cleaner (KIC) following.

Ms Henshaw said KIC took its social media role very seriously and all content was created in conjunction with health professionals.

“We purposely created KIC to nullify short term solutions and ill informed advice when it comes to health and wellness, we are well aware of the responsibilities that come in this space,” she said.

“All of our content is created in conjunction with health professionals including dieticians, physiotherapists and personal trainers so we can refer to their expertise.

“It's so important to be vigilant with what information is shared and consumed via social media - we take our role in this very seriously.”

Dr Walker said most influencers offered adequate general health tips, but he warned of the alarming reliance young people were now placing on social media sites and google when seeking serious medical advice.

“One of my patients was telling me her brother was sitting at this computer searching up chest pain instead of ringing paramedics, and when they arrived he was dead,” Dr Walker said.

“If you have severe chest pain or headache, difficulty breathing, bleeding from your gut, ring triple-zero don't sit there and bloody google.

Instagram influencer and fitness entrepreneur Ashy Bines, with her dog "Scooby" at her home at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Dr Walker said it was critical to remind young people that influencers had agendas, and were usually selling or advertising products, instead of offering free advice.

“If someone’s offering a quick fix, a cure, a miracle drug, whatever, if they're making what seems to be pretty stoning claims about either natural and pharmaceutical, they’re typically getting a kick back from it,” he said.

“Like that UFC rapper who has the horrible energy drink selling for an extortionary price.

“We need to stress to people that only medical experts should be giving good, responsible medical advice based on science and not based on getting kickback from a product.”