(NewsNation) — An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but for an increasing number of young adults, it’s apple cider vinegar, sea moss or whatever their peers recommend — all before seeing a professional.
Roughly 45% of 18- to 34-year-olds have disregarded their doctor’s orders and turned to friends, family and social media for medical answers in the last year, according to a survey by Edelman.
That’s a 13-point increase since 2024. Similarly, young adults reported a 12% increase in using social media advice over their doctor’s.
“They’re going to their peers because they’re relatable, because they’ve experienced the same things that they have, because it’s a judgment-free zone, they feel like,” social media expert Corey Perlman told NewsNation.
Peer-to-peer trust, Perlman said, “is overtaking the professional world.”
The findings show a “structural reorientation in how health is understood, trusted, and shared,” Edelman told NewsNation in a statement. They also reflect an upward trend of doctor distrust in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
But young people have not completely disregarded professional opinions.
According to Edelman’s survey, 82% of 18- to 35-year-olds said their doctor influences their medical decisions.
Nearly three-quarters of those in that age range said they were influenced by friends and family, and 72% said the same about health experts.
While many Gen-Zers and millennials turn to social media for just about everything, 33% of young people said their medical decisions are influenced by content creators without medical training.
The Edelman survey asked more than 16,000 people in 16 countries about their habits in March 2025.