Over the past decade, social media has become the world's default information channel. According to DataReportal (2025), more than 93 percent of internet users access social platforms each month, spending an average of 18 hours a week scrolling through feeds dominated by short-form video.
Yet the same algorithms that make these platforms addictive are misaligned with the goals of care communication. Their only true measure of success is attention — and whether the next video is played. They do not assess whether a viewer understands their condition better, makes an informed choice or takes a safe action.
That fundamental design choice creates a tension for healthcare. Platforms that reward engagement over evidence are poorly suited to the kind of authentic, care-driven communication clinicians provide. Even with regulatory pressure increasing through the EU AI Act and the UK's Online Safety Act, social media's DNA remains optimised for clicks.
Have we already passed peak social media?
Recent analysis by Financial Times data journalist John Burn-Murdoch suggests we may have reached an inflection point. Drawing on survey data from more than 250,000 adults across 50 countries, he found that global time spent on social media peaked in 2022 and has since declined by nearly 10 percent. The fall is sharpest among younger users aged 16–24, the audience once most glued to their screens.
Burn-Murdoch's conclusion is that in a few years' time, we may look back on this period as the moment when social media began its shift from the cultural "centre of gravity" to a more chaotic backwater of the internet. North America remains an outlier, still spending more time online than Europe, but the global direction of travel seems that fatigue is setting in.
For healthcare communication, that fatigue matters. As users tire of endless, low-value scrolling, the opportunity emerges to offer something quieter, more purposeful and more trustworthy.
The rise (and limits) of health content on social media
Social media has democratised access to health information. Studies in Frontiers in Communication (2024) and BMC Health Services Research show that people increasingly use these platforms to learn about symptoms, treatments and lifestyle choices. In one survey, more than 40 percent of adults said they use YouTube to research health topics before consulting a clinician.
This accessibility can empower patients, but it can also confuse them. Algorithms amplify what entertains, not necessarily what educates. A 2023 study published on arXiv found that readers judge credibility mainly by perceived expertise and tone, not by the quality of evidence itself.
So while YouTube Health and similar initiatives are incredibly powerful, their underlying engagement models still reward retention over reliability. The most viral content often wins, regardless of accuracy. That dynamic will not change until we rethink the entire environment in which health communication lives.
Regulation and the ethics of AI will accelerate the shift
Generative AI is amplifying both the potential and the risks of health communication. As synthetic video and cloned voices become ubiquitous, questions of provenance, accuracy and consent will dominate.
Regulators are responding. The EU AI Act now classifies certain AI applications in healthcare as "high-risk." The UK's MHRA is developing an AI-as-a-medical-device framework. The Patient Information Forum PIF Tick continues to set the benchmark for quality and transparency in patient information.
These initiatives share one underlying message: trust must be designed in. They point toward a future where credibility, explainability and data integrity become essential parts of any digital health platform.
That environment favours clinician-led ecosystems: spaces designed around understanding and trust rather than manipulation and metrics.
From algorithmic noise to intelligent discovery
TikTok and YouTube are built to keep users watching; healthcare communication must help users act. Their "success" metric is views; ours must be outcomes.
The next generation of health platforms will need to align with that difference. They'll combine traditional search optimisation with structured data — JSON-LD, schema markup and AI-readable metadata — allowing search engines and large language models to interpret not just the topic but the trustworthiness of the source.
It's no longer enough to publish a video and hope it performs. The video's metadata must tell its own story: who the clinician is, what evidence underpins their message and what next step the viewer can safely take.
Platforms capable of embedding that level of transparency will not only earn patient trust; they'll also surface more consistently in AI-driven search, where context and credibility matter as much as keywords.
Why clinicians must lead the communication revolution
The solution is of course not to abandon social media entirely. It's my view that the future of digital health will depend on clinicians leading the creation and contextualisation of health information.
To make that practical, two things are needed:
- Lower barriers to creation. Clinicians need simple, secure tools to produce multilingual, PIF-compliant content without studio expertise. Advances in avatar-based video, voice synthesis and automated translation make this achievable today.
- The right environment for that content. Trusted messages deserve trusted surroundings: professional networks, hospital libraries or accredited hubs, where information is curated, validated and discoverable by both humans and AI.
Competing in a congested, AI-driven world
Even as clinicians embrace digital communication, visibility remains a challenge. Every influencer, brand and algorithm is competing for attention. Success therefore depends on structural excellence — not just the message.
Key principles for the next wave of clinician-led content:
- LLM-ready metadata so chat-bots understand who you are and why your content matters.
- Ethical SEO that rewards clarity, not controversy.
- Clear calls to action so viewers know what to do next.
- Accreditation signals like the PIF Tick to reinforce authenticity and compliance.
If Burn-Murdoch is right that we've already passed "peak social media," then the next phase of health communication is wide open. One ecosystem will remain fast, entertaining and superficial. The other — clinician-led, structured and trustworthy — will focus on clarity, accessibility and action.
The opportunity for healthcare is to bridge those worlds: combining authenticity with algorithmic fluency.
At 4Cori Ltd, we see this not as a technological race but as a shared responsibility with clinicians. Our purpose is to help them lead this change — providing the trusted tools, frameworks and support needed to communicate clearly, globally and ethically in a new digital era.
References
- Burn-Murdoch, J. (2025). Have we passed peak social media? Financial Times.
- DataReportal (2025). Digital 2025: Global Overview Report.
- Frontiers in Communication (2024). Social Media and Health Information: Opportunities and Risks.
- BMC Health Services Research (2016). Benefits and Challenges of Social Media in Health Communication.
- arXiv (2023). Evaluating Credibility in Short Health-Related Social Media Posts.
- Hootsuite (2025). Social Media Trends Report.
- European Union (2024). EU Artificial Intelligence Act.