TikTok Pinky Time Trend Lacks Evidence, Expert Says
The trend's popularity shows how appealing, simple health advice can spread on social media even when the science behind it is thin.
Reporting from 1 sources: GIGAZINE.
A TikTok trend called 'pinky time' claims that wiggling the little finger for 7 to 10 seconds daily can prevent cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Monica Macatzzny-Kovacs, a cognitive psychology researcher at Anglia Ruskin University, says the exercise is vaguely based on neuroscience but the claims go far beyond what the evidence supports.
On TikTok, a simple finger exercise called 'pinky time' has gained nearly 150,000 likes on one video alone. The method involves extending the thumb and ring finger, bringing them together, then bending the little finger until it touches the palm. The poster claims the move tests brain health and that doing it daily can prevent Alzheimer's disease and improve brain plasticity.
Dr. Monica Macatzzny-Kovacs, a postdoctoral research fellow in cognitive psychology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, told The Conversation that the trend is appealing because it is free and easy, but the conclusions drawn from it are far more ambitious than the evidence allows. She noted the idea is vaguely based on actual neuroscience but is not evidence-based.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.