This is how misinformation travels on the social networks of the new generations: the misunderstood scientific study. Boiled salad to sleep, the trend on TikTok.
Usersers of TikTok, the music clip social, have stumbled upon a hilarious misunderstanding. It all starts with the alleged misunderstanding of a scientific study. Which shows us how fake news can circulate even on the platform of the new generations and, despite the absurdity of the proposal, gather followers.
What exactly are we talking about?
What is the new trend of Tik Tok for a strange sleep herbal tea
According to some users of the platform, boiled lettuce would have soporific effects, as if it were an anti-stress herbal tea that no one has ever put into production because, as presumable, disgusting. The user Shapla, apparently the first to launch the experiment, which later went viral, tested live the effects of the salad at 100 degrees, to which she added tea to mitigate the unbearable taste.
Other TikTokers have taken the advice, experimenting in their clips the DIY extract and claiming in videos that, well, it actually works. Does it really? Actually, no. Apparently, misinformation gallops even among younger segments of the population, who we like to imagine as more aware and alert to the traps of the internet.
Why drinking salad won't help you sleep better
Probably upstream is a 2017 study in which some scientists administered lettuce and seed extract to mice, observing a sedating effect on the rodents, which resulted in ease of falling asleep and longer-lasting sleep. However, the differences with what the users of the social network did are substantial.
In fact, the mice were given doses of 80 mg/kg of extract or 160 mg/kg. Which would be equivalent, in a person of average weight (62 kg) to 4.96 or 9.92 grams. It means that, proportionally, young people who tried the experiment should drink much more "herbal tea" or in more concentrated amounts (and probably taste even more disgusting). Moreover, the scientists did not use a water-based compound, but ethanol.
The message is clear, misinformation does not travel only on Facebook but also on TikTik, where it seems to have adapted to the spirit of the times with a more "cool" look. It must be said that the guys who succeeded in the experiment could have demonstrated something scientifically founded: but it is only a very traditional placebo effect.
The social of the moment is talked about cyclically and also for less extravagant reasons. For example, in May, TikTok cancelled 500 thousand Italian accounts.
Another news concerns the beginning of the testing phase for in app purchases.
Giuseppe Giordano