The real ADHD trap

Were Benjamin Franklin alive today he'd probably be sending a message to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy via X saying "...but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except online news sites and clickbait".

In fairness, he'd probably feel a little cheap and dirty for using X, but the sentiment remains true. Some 15 years ago I completed a part-time degree at Ulster University with my dissertation on the future of newspapers. It was clear, even back then, that the way news was being reported was on a significant path to change.

Back in the late '90s and early '00s print was still king. Newspaper sales ebbed and flowed based on a front page. A spellbinding headline or image could result in a spike in sales. The difference was, back then, that mostly one headline mattered in increasing sales, the rest didn't. Today for many news websites every article has the potential to be that day's clickbait winner and so news content (and the headlines and images used) can so often become more about potential to get readers than the news itself.

I say all that to pre-empt the fact that I wouldn't normally even use the Daily Mail to wipe my digital arse, let alone my real one. But, I've been trying to keep this part of the site up-to-date with other news articles about ADHD and autism and so I'm constantly searching for new links to put up. It's, simply put, a repository of news stories updated weekly.

In my quest to keep that page up-to-date I've had to make decisions on whether to share specific articles. It's an easy answer when it comes to positive or constructive articles and news.

But I struggled when I put up this article that first appeared in the Spectator and later made it to the Daily Mail's site with one of the most clickbait headline you can find "Don't be duped - as I almost was - by the grifters who claim you have 'adult ADHD'. You'll only deprive real sufferers."

At least in the Spectator the headline was a more muted one – "The adult ADHD trap". My struggle was that no matter the headline, the article perpetuates stereotypes and outdated views of ADHD.

I'll sum it up so you don't give the article any more eyeballs than is necessary. Our intrepid writer was bored on a bus, took an online questionnaire about ADHD and signed up for 'impulse brain training' and was temporarily convinced she might have ADHD.

I do feel the writer's pain. It's one of the things I've wanted to write about here. Because as more of us talk openly about ADHD and autism, there are more companies out there trying to make money on the back of those increased conversations. For example, there are a lot of ridiculous adverts out there trying to convince people to think they've ADHD (and by extension pay money for apps). Exhibit a, below, is one I saw on Instagram recently.

It's a misleading advert that claims ADHD is a direct response to depression. The two things can co-occur and certainly there is a high comorbidity between ADHD and depression, but that doesn't mean you can create crap like this (and let's just ignore the age old laziness trope).

So I get that it can be frustrating if, well intentioned, you find yourself taking a quiz and being convinced you've got ADHD when you may not have. In the interests of science I did take the above quiz and answered questions like "how often do you procrastinate?" with never. Based on my responses and the outcome, the quiz definitely feels like it was created to ensure that to get an outcome that's anything other than further use of the paid for app, you'd likely need to hack the system. Yes, that's annoying. Yes, there should be a process that stops adverts like this from being shown in the first place on social media platforms. And yes it's frustrating to be on the receiving end of content like this.

But that doesn't mean you should write an article that calls a (very functional) ADHD charity 'repulsive' in amongst regurgitating lazy stereotypes like 'young boys bouncing around the room'.

Headlines are often written by editors rather than writers themselves. This is especially so in today's world where headlines are a window into an article's soul (or at least its mounting page view count). But for the Daily Mail to finish the headline with "you'll only deprive real sufferers" is jarring because at no point is the piece does it mention those of us with ADHD who do need help.

Two things can be true at the same time. It is true that there's a deluge of online websites and apps trying to make money on the back of anyone thinking they have ADHD and using generic questions to convince others to pay them.

But it can also be true that there are many people around the country who need help and articles like this, which rely on outdated rhetoric, contribute to that same stigma that ADHD charities are so desperately working to combat against.