Fifty-seven percent of women ages 18 to 29 say they get health and wellness information from social media influencers or podcasts, according to a Pew Research Center analysis released Monday.
That share is 10 percentage points higher than the 47% reported among men in the same age group, based on a national survey conducted in June 2025.
Health care providers remain the most common source of health information for Americans, but Pew found that influencers and podcasts also play a substantial role. Overall, 40% of adults said they get health and wellness information from those sources at least sometimes.
Young women who consume influencer health content were especially likely to encounter posts about beauty and personal appearance. Fifty-one percent said they often hear about that topic, compared with 18% of young men.
Young women were also about twice as likely to say they often receive content about therapies outside mainstream medicine, 21% compared with 10% among young men. The gender differences were smaller for mental health, dietary supplements or cleanses, weight loss and mainstream medicine.
Fitness content was common among both groups. Fifty-seven percent of young men and 47% of young women who use influencers for health information said they often encounter fitness material.
Pew also found differences in why young adults turn to influencers. Among young women who get health and wellness information from those sources, 51% said wanting to change their health or lifestyle was a major reason, compared with 37% of young men.
Twenty-three percent of young women said hearing from people who share their background or beliefs was a major reason, compared with 14% of young men. Nineteen percent of young women cited learning about topics they did not want to ask a doctor about, compared with 10% of young men.
The findings were drawn from a Pew Research Center survey of adults in the United States conducted June 9-15, 2025.
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