The latest social contagion

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Every generation has them. They typically impact adolescent girls more often than boys.
The latest social contagion:

Tics and TikTok: Can social media trigger illness? - Harvard Health

For hundreds of years there have been documented instances of groups of people developing similar, medically inexplicable, and sometimes bizarre symptoms, such as paralysis, involuntary tics...

www.health.harvard.edu

Tics and TikTok: a new driver of sociogenic illness?​

The first known examples of social media-induced sociogenic illness were recognized in the last year or two, a time coinciding with the pandemic. Neurologists began seeing increasing numbers of patients, especially teenage girls, with unusual, involuntary movements and vocalizations reminiscent of Tourette syndrome. After ruling out other explanations, the tics in these teenagers seemed related to many hours spent watching TikTok videos of people who report having Tourette syndrome and other movement disorders. Posted by social media influencers, these videos have billions of page views on TikTok; similar videos are available on YouTube and other sites.

What helped? Medications, counselling, and stress management, according to some reports. Avoiding social media posts about movement disorders and reassurance regarding the nature of the illness also are key.

Geographic boundaries may have become less relevant; now, the influences driving these illnesses may include social media, not just physical proximity.

Pandemic Tic-like Behaviors Following Social Media Consumption​

Pandemic Tic-like Behaviors Following Social Media Consumption - PubMed

TLBs after social media consumption differ from tics in Tourette's syndrome, strongly suggesting that these phenomena are categorically different conditions. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov