Birth Control Concerns Revealed: Insights from 200 Gen Z Women Raise National Alarm

Online Misinformation Eroding Young Women’s Trust in Birth Control, Survey Reveals

A groundbreaking survey of college-aged women has uncovered an alarming trend: the majority of young women are foregoing contraception, not because of political or religious beliefs, but due to a pervasive wave of misinformation spreading through social media and online platforms.

The survey, which collected responses from more than 200 female students aged 18-22 across 26 states, revealed that 62 percent of respondents were not using any form of birth control. Surprisingly, this trend crossed political lines, with 74 percent of participants identifying as Democrats—challenging the assumption that contraceptive use aligns with political affiliation.

“It is not about what party or political belief system they follow—it’s about who they follow online,” the researcher noted after analyzing the results. When asked where they got their information about contraception, respondents mentioned “online” and “social media” 70 times in their answers.

The digital landscape has become saturated with questionable information about contraception. According to a recent study from La Trobe University, over 70 percent of contraceptive content on TikTok contains misleading or false information. Researchers who reviewed the top 100 videos on contraception—with nearly 5 billion views collectively—found that 53 percent of creators explicitly rejected hormonal birth control, while 34 percent expressed distrust in medical professionals. Only 10 percent of the content was created by actual health experts.

“The majority of what young women see online about birth control isn’t evidence-based—it’s algorithm-optimized,” explained the researcher.

This online misinformation campaign appears increasingly coordinated. Wellness influencers regularly warn followers that “birth control ruined my hormones” or promote cycle tracking as a “natural” alternative to hormonal contraception. These seemingly empowering messages often mask a politically motivated campaign to undermine contraceptive use.

The consequences could be far-reaching. Currently, 121 million Americans—over one-third of the country—live in states that are actively restricting or attempting to restrict contraception. The online ecosystem softens the ground for these legislative efforts by normalizing distrust in medical care and making young women believe that opting out of contraception is an empowered choice rather than a politically engineered one.

Major figures have also contributed to this messaging. In 2022, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called for revisiting Griswold v. Connecticut, the landmark case that guaranteed the right to birth control. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has used his platform of 225 million followers to suggest that birth control is to blame for feminism and that women voting Democratic is a “problem” linked to contraception.

Conservative media outlets have joined the fray. Evie magazine, which positions itself as a conservative alternative to Cosmopolitan, has launched what critics call a large-scale misinformation campaign against hormonal birth control, labeling it harmful, unnatural, and unnecessary. The magazine also promotes a fertility-tracking app called 28 as an alternative to birth control. The app, primarily backed by Palantir founder Peter Thiel, encourages users to input sensitive data about their menstrual cycles.

Part of why this campaign has been effective is the declining concern about teen pregnancy, which has fallen 78 percent since 1991—largely thanks to contraceptive access. With these fears seeming distant, misinformation about birth control feels low-stakes to many young women.

“The anti-contraception movement has broken through the political firewall,” the researcher concluded. “The cultural messaging is strong enough to make Democratic-leaning young women suspicious of basic healthcare, then the political opposition to contraception bans will be significantly weaker when the legal fight comes.”

This strategy doesn’t require winning a majority—it simply needs to suppress outrage by reshaping belief systems before policy changes occur. The battleground isn’t traditional partisan politics but rather the online ecosystem versus reality.

Birth control has historically been a powerful tool for women’s economic mobility and autonomy. When women gained the ability to plan their families, college enrollment soared, dropout rates fell, and poverty rates declined. Access to contraception has been directly linked to women’s ability to stay in school, build careers, and make decisions about their futures.

As this coordinated campaign continues to spread across social media platforms, health advocates warn that the consequences could reverse decades of progress in women’s reproductive health and economic independence.