COVID-19 on TikTok: harnessing an emerging social media platform to convey important public health messages

Abstract

ObjectivesTikTok is a popular social media platform, especially among those who are 13–24 years of age. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to describe the content of COVID-19 material on TikTok.MethodsA total of 100 videos posted under the hashtag #Coronavirus were included in this study along with all (n=17) posts uploaded by the World Health Organization (WHO).ResultsOverall, these videos were viewed 1,194,081,700 times. The most commonly cited topics included anxiety (14.5%) with more than 190.6 million views and quarantine (10.3%) with 106.6 million views. Fewer than 10% of videos mentioned how the virus is transmitted, symptoms, and prevention. WHO videos more often focused on viral transmission and symptoms but covered these topics in fewer than 10% of the videos.ConclusionsAlthough research suggests that cases of COVID-19 may be less severe in those under 18 years of age, social distancing remains paramount due to the possibility of transmission even in those with minimal or no symptoms. For young adults in particular, the WHO suggests staying connected through social media and making every attempt to stay positive. TikTok has the potential, not only to convey important health information, but to address these aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well.

How Health Care Workers Wield Influence Through Twitter Hashtags: Retrospective Cross-sectional Study of the Gun Violence and COVID-19 Public Health Crises

“…However, few previous studies have characterized whether the content of social media campaigns initiated by the health care community are truly unique. For example, TikTok videos about COVID-19 accumulated over 1 billion views; however, an analysis of these videos reports that only a small portion were led by health care professionals, and that few—even those developed by the World Health Organization—included actionable tools to prevent or handle the pandemic [ 23 , 24 ]. Another study reported that a Twitter campaign to raise skin cancer prevention awareness led to nearly 12 million impressions on social media [ 25 ] but did not examine content or tone of shared posts.…”

Impact of COVID-19 on primary care visits: lesson learnt from the early pandemic period

“…They are being used to monitor the progression of COVID-19 pandemic, to announce public policies and restrictions, to disseminate medical information or health advice, to deliver remote health care, and even to describe the geographic spread of COVID-19 which has been proven very effective. [26][27][28][29][30][31] In Klaten, the government used its official website and Instagram to deliver health messages, policies and monitor progressions. 21 We suggest that they should design an appealing public health poster to encourage people with chronic diseases, specifically hypertension, to see their physicians with masks, face shield and appropriate hand hygiene.…”

Factors Driving Citizen Engagement With Government TikTok Accounts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Model Development and Analysis

“…Since its creation, the popularity of TikTok has increased rapidly, with more than 800 million active users in 2020 [ 15 ]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok became an indispensable source of information and communication channel for the general public and between government organizations and citizens [ 16 ]. Second, extant studies have predominantly explored possible influencing factors through the lens of media type, government type, content type, media richness, message style, and interactive features, with limited effort paid to specific influencing mechanisms [ 1 , 4 , 8 ].…”