Cerebral (Online ADHD Drug Provider) Receives Subpoena from Federal Prosecutors

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cerebral-receives-subpoena-from-federal-prosecutors-11651950307

by syspec • 4 years ago

8 2 4 years ago

pingeroo• 4 years ago

I got into a bit of a rabbit hole after reading this WSJ article, which lead me to find this related article about the "ADHD industrial complex"[0]. It perfectly sums up the pattern been noticing the past couple years of ADHD becoming way too sensationalized on social media. For example this TikTok with 9 million views [1] that portrays universal things like not enjoying waiting in lines, or the texture of certain foods, as ADHD behaviour.

The comments sections on these posts you'll be sure to see something along the lines of "omg I'm convinced I have ADHD now". I have always heard the narrative that ADHD is extremely over-diagnosed. Surely its sensationalization on social media plays a large role in that.

Telehealth startups like Cerebral are just adding salt to the wound. I don't live in the US, so I was shocked to see how these companies advertise on social media [3].

I can't help but imagine a user flow along the lines of: a). Scrolling through your feed seeing some memes about ADHD. Including this one [4] that conveniently lists out all the symptoms, and this one [5] that tells you how to speak during your consultation so that you don't get flagged for drug-seeking behaviour. b). Scrolling a bit further and see an ad for ADHD consulation c). Stimulant prescription after 30 minutes of regurgitating memes you saw on social media

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31300317

[1] https://www.tiktok.com/@dr.kojosarfo/video/70758958399267996...

[3] https://twitter.com/whrobbins/status/1520169660468977664

[4] https://www.tiktok.com/@adhdvision/video/7037942190487653638

[5] https://www.tiktok.com/@courtneyadhd/video/70731558599201457...

Cerebral (Online ADHD Drug Provider) Receives Subpoena from Federal Prosecutors

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