Evaluating the reliability and quality of retinal detachment educational content on TikTok and Bilibili

Retinal detachment (RD) is a sight-threatening emergency where public awareness of early symptoms is critical. Bilibili and TikTok now serve as prominent health information channels, yet RD-related video content quality and reliability remain unassessed. This cross-sectional study systematically retrieved the top 150 videos using the keyword "retinal detachment" from Bilibili and TikTok in October 2025. Following exclusion criteria application, 224 videos underwent analysis. Two ophthalmologists independently assessed video quality and reliability using the Global Quality Scale (GQS), modified DISCERN, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria. Analyses also covered content themes, uploader identity, and correlations with user engagement metrics. Among the 224 videos, overall quality was suboptimal (median scores: GQS = 2, modified DISCERN = 2, JAMA = 2). Treatment information dominated (67.86%), while content on symptoms (48.21%) and particularly prevention (32.59%) was scarce. Although overall scores were low, the distributions of GQS (P = .014) and JAMA (P = .002) scores differed significantly between self-identified professional and nonprofessional uploaders, despite identical group medians. A key finding was the negligible correlation between user engagement metrics and quality scores, indicating that popularity does not reflect content accuracy. Current RD information on short-form video platforms is characterized by generally low quality, significant content imbalance, and a disconnect between engagement and reliability. Urgent collaborative efforts among content creators, platform regulators, and healthcare institutions are needed to establish quality control standards, promote evidence-based content, and enhance public health literacy to leverage social media for improving RD outcomes.