Coffee with Michelle Houde | TikTok. No filter.

Is TikTok toxic for young people? Doctor Michelle Houde is instead betting on investing in the platform to promote health, particularly sexual and mental health. A goal that she also pursues in the real world.

You couldn’t make this up. Michelle Houde apologizes for arriving a few minutes late for our appointment… because she stopped on the way to help someone who had fallen on the sidewalk.

Help. If there is one word that helps to define this 29-year-old woman, it is this one. On her left arm is tattooed the motto of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Mexico, Vivir Para Servir (Live to Serve).

Below is engraved the score of the song Imagineby John Lennon. “That’s the bit that says You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only oneshe says. It symbolizes that I want to live to serve. And you might think I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”

Dr. Houde had arranged to meet me at La Fabrique Arhoma on Ontario Street. We grab coffees and head to a park near Notre-Dame Hospital, where she will be finishing her residency in public health and preventive medicine in just three weeks.

I wanted to talk to her about TikTok, where she has achieved star status under the pseudonym “the colorful MD.” Nearly 200,000 subscribers follow her videos about health, particularly sexual and mental health.

Vulvar hygiene. Exam stress. Hangovers, whooping cough in schools, gender identity: she addresses a wide variety of topics with naturalness and frankness.

My ultimate goal is to make a difference in people’s health.

Michelle Houde

In other videos, Michelle Houde simply talks about her clothing style (often very colorful, she is a big fashion fan) or her daily life. Her father, sports commentator Pierre Houde, sometimes makes appearances.

As someone who is concerned about the impact of social media on young people, especially girls, I was curious to hear her thoughts on the issue. It turns out she has thought about it for a long time.

I have a very nuanced view of social networks. I am absolutely aware of the risks, but I think there is also a lot of beauty in it and that we must avoid demonizing it.

Michelle Houde

Michelle Houde is particularly careful about the image she projects on TikTok and Instagram. She, who has completed medical studies and plays the clarinet in an orchestra, could easily project the image of a perfect woman who has everything going for her.

But the public health specialist is well aware that the idealized lives we see on our screens wreak havoc, fueling feelings of inadequacy and jealousy. That’s why she’s keen to show other sides of herself.

For example, she talks about her anxiety and depression that forced her to temporarily interrupt her studies. She also made a video about her acne and no longer hesitates to film herself without makeup.

I thought to myself: if I’m going to go on social media, I have to be real and actively fight against this problem of only sharing the good side. It’s not always easy. Sometimes I have to push myself to prove to myself that I’m really committed.

Michelle Houde

When I ask him what was the hardest thing to reveal on TikTok, I am frankly surprised by his answer.

“That’s when I talked about my difficulty cleaning,” she says. “I think it’s because it leads to very strong self-criticism. I sometimes have difficulty organizing my actions in relation to cleaning and it can rub off on other areas of my life like work. I have difficulty accepting it, I tell myself that I’m lazy.”

Michelle Houde is also well aware of the risks of dependency that social networks can create.

I myself sometimes feel symptoms of social media addiction. I have used TikTok at times to manage my anxiety, to divert my thoughts to other things by watching videos. And I sometimes have a hard time closing the app. This is something I want to address in my videos soon.

Michelle Houde

She says she understands health professionals who, because of the risks, are avoiding TikTok.

“Except that the platform exists and young people are on it,” she points out. “Everyone wants to learn about their health and on TikTok, there will always be health content. Some do it rigorously, others don’t.”

She refuses to give up all the space to them.

The security risks associated with the Chinese platform that are pushing some employers to ban their employees from accessing it?

“I have no expertise in data security and national security,” she said. “All I can say is that I believe there is a risk of removing all government employees from TikTok because of the quality of the information that is circulating there. Then it is up to the government to assess the balance of risks.”

Michelle Houde’s life obviously doesn’t revolve around TikTok. In three weeks, she will finish her medical residency. She doesn’t want to reveal in detail what awaits her, but we understand that her work will still revolve around public health and sexual health.

This desire to care for as many people as possible has been with her since she was very young.

“In public health, we really have a health perspective rather than a disease perspective,” she explains. “In my work, my patients are populations. The goal is to promote health and well-being, both physical and psychological, as well as social and even spiritual. To achieve this, we must create environments that are conducive to health.”

Through all her activities, she ensures that the clarinet is not an additional burden.

“That’s pure pleasure,” she says. “My grandfather Paul was blowing his saxophone and writing sheet music at 94. I made it my goal to never stop. Because I know it’s too easy to stop our passions.”

On that, I don’t have too many worries. Michelle Houde exudes such passion that she seems unstoppable.

Unfiltered questionnaire

Coffee and me: We are one. I drink it black and bitter, since my sleepless nights of the R-rating race.

People I would like to gather around the table, dead or alive: My four grandparents, from whom I learned so much and from whom I still have so much to learn.

A trip that makes me dream: Colombia with my Colombian friend (it’s coming!)

The quality I look for in others: Openness and empathy.

My favorite social media influencers: The beautiful community of Quebec health influencers: @joseph.dahine, @drnadeauvallee, @carletkate, @journaldunepharmacienne, @la_maman_infirmiere, @t.ammystyle and many others, as well as my infinitely relevant friends @surleborddelaligne and @farnellmorisset.

Who is Michelle Houde?

• Born in 1995.
• Grew up in Terrebonne, a northern suburb of Montreal.
• Knows from a young age that she wants to be a doctor.
• Studied medicine at the University of Montreal, then completed his residency in public health and preventive medicine.
• Health columnist at Hello Helloin the magazine Vero and to EPAV media.
• Clarinettist for 10 years with the Philharmonia Mundi orchestra of Montreal.