Anecdotal Evidence... Helpful or Harmful?

Hello Friends!

Welcome to the first episode of my new YouTube Channel, the Dr Roxie Becker Show!

Today we are talking all about anecdotal evidence. Our Instagram and TikTok feeds are bombarded with success stories and health hacks, and while some of them may be motivating and can help us to improve our lives, many of these online trends can be downright harmful.

Some of the benefits of these anecdotal success stories include:

1. They are relatable and motivating.

2. They are great for hypothesis generation for future studies.

3. They build a sense of community and support.

However, they also come with significant drawbacks:

1. There is a lack of generalizability.

2. There is a lack of a control group.

3. The results may be due to a placebo effect.

4. There is positive selection bias and confirmation bias.

5. There may be short term harms.

6. There may be short term benefits but they come with long term harms.

7. People may be overselling/overclaiming their results or flat out lying.

To hear an explanation of each of these points, head over to my YouTube channel, Spotify, or Apple Music.