TikTok and Its Role in COVID-19 Information Propagation

Ostrovsky, Adam M.; Chen, Joshua R

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.07.039

Cited by 90 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Within the last six months, there has been an increasing trend of healthcare workers using TikTok for health awareness and communications campaigns [ 21 ]. Previous research conducted by Ostrovsky and Chen (2020) [ 4 ] found that though a small portion of TikTok videos posted in July 2020 were filmed by healthcare professionals, they were broadly “liked” and shared, signifying the demand and opportunity for healthcare providers to use the platform as a means of public health education. As the country prepares for subsequent waves, further research is needed to explore how healthcare professionals use TikTok and other social media platforms to disseminate timely, accurate health information [ 26 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research found that non-educational screen time among young people has greatly increased [ 3 ]. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, have played a large role in “youth resocialization in a pandemic society” and COVID-19 information dissemination [ 4 ]. Nearly all U.S. teens, aged 13 to 17 years, have access to a smartphone, while almost half are “almost constantly” on the Internet [ 5 ].…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This engagement with the platform is different from other video-based platforms, such as YouTube, where there is no video length limit and where users have more autonomy in choosing the next video they wish to view. TikTok is primarily used by young people [ 4 ]; 40% percent of TikTok users are between the ages of 16–24 years [ 17 ] and 63.5% are younger than 29 years of age [ 20 ]. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic where nearly all communication is virtual, young people especially are turning to TikTok.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…There is limited research on TikTok and COVID-19 [ 4 , 17 ]. Ostrovsky and Chen (2020) [ 4 ] analyzed the 100 most popular videos with the hashtags, “covid-19,” “covid19,” and “coronavirus” in July 2020. Among the 100 videos sampled, they received more than four billion, 33 billion, and 93 billion views, respectively.…”

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Characterizing COVID-19 Content Posted to TikTok: Public Sentiment and Response During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Southwick

Guntuku

Klinger

et al. 2021

Journal of Adolescent Health

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Purpose The purpose of this study was to characterize COVID-19 content posted by users and disseminated via TikTok, a social media platform that has become known largely as an entertainment platform for viral video-sharing. We sought to capture how TikTok videos posted during the initial months of the COVID pandemic changed over time as cases accelerated. Methods This study is an observational analysis of sequential TikTok videos with #coronavirus from January to March 2020. Videos were independently coded to assess content (e.g., health relatedness, humor, fear, empathy), misinformation, and public sentiment. To assess engagement, we also codified how often videos were shared relative to their content. Results We coded 750 videos and approximately one in four videos tagged with #coronavirus featured health-related content such as featuring objects such as face masks, hand sanitizer, and other cleaning products. Most videos evoked “humor/parody,” whereas 15% and 6% evoked “fear” and “empathy”, respectively. TikTok videos posted in March 2020 had the largest number of shares and comments compared with January and February 2020. The proportion of shares and comments for “misleading and incorrect information” featured in videos was lower in March than in January and February 2020. There was no statistical difference between the share and comment counts of videos coded as "incorrect/incomplete" and "correct" over the entire time period. Conclusions Analyzing readily available social media platforms, such as TikTok provides real-time insights into public views, frequency and types of misinformation, and norms toward COVID-19. Analyzing TikTok videos has the potential to be used to inform public health messaging and public health mitigation strategies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Characterizing COVID-19 Content Posted to TikTok: Public Sentiment and Response During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Southwick

Guntuku

Klinger

et al. 2021

Journal of Adolescent Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Given the many young users of this platform (e.g., 81.68% of China users of Tiktok are under 35 years old—see above, and 32.5% of the US users are 19 years old and younger) 4 , it is of particular relevance to better understand the motivation to use TikTok, alongside related topics. Such an understanding might also be relevant because recent research suggests that TikTok can be a potent channel to inform young persons on health-relevant information ( 10 – 12 ), on official information release from the government ( 13 ), political discussions ( 14 ), tourism content ( 15 ), live online sales ( 16 ), and even educational content ( 17 ). There even have been video-posts analyzed in a scientific paper related to radiology ( 18 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Psychology of TikTok Use: A First Glimpse From Empirical Findings

Montag

Yang

Elhai

2021

Front. Public Health

197

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TikTok (in Chinese: DouYin; formerly known as musical.ly) currently represents one of the most successful Chinese social media applications in the world. Since its founding in September 2016, TikTok has seen widespread distribution, in particular, attracting young users to engage in viewing, creating, and commenting on “LipSync-Videos” on the app. Despite its success in terms of user numbers, psychological studies aiming at an understanding of TikTok use are scarce. This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview on the small empirical literature available thus far. In particular, insights from uses and gratification theory in the realm of TikTok are highlighted, and we also discuss aspects of the TikTok platform design. Given the many unexplored research questions related to TikTok use, it is high time to strengthen research efforts to better understand TikTok use and whether certain aspects of its use result in detrimental behavioral effects. In light of user characteristics of the TikTok platform, this research is highly relevant because TikTok users are often adolescents and therefore from a group of potentially vulnerable individuals.

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“Does My Kid Have an Ear Infection?” An Analysis of Pediatric Acute Otitis Media Videos on TikTok

Dimitroyannis,

Cho,

Thodupunoori

et al. 2024

The Laryngoscope

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IntroductionWith the rise of social media, online platforms have become a common way to access healthcare information. This study examines the quality of pediatric acute otitis media (AOM) videos on TikTok, a popular short‐form video social media platform.MethodsA TikTok search was conducted between 8/18 and 8/19/2023 using pediatric AOM hashtags: #pediatric acute otitis media management, #kid ear infections remedy, #child ear infections treatment, and #kid ear infection. Data collected include number of views/shares per day, uploader type (nonmedical influencer, lay individual, and medical professional), and content categories. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Material (PEMAT‐AV) and DISCERN questionnaire measured understandability, actionability, and quality of videos. Multivariable linear regression models were used (significance set at ≤0.05).ResultsOf 166 videos, 38.6% (64) of uploaders were medical professionals, and 32.5% (54) were nonmedical influencers. Nonmedical influencer videos were viewed and shared significantly more than those by medical professionals (p < 0.05). Controlling for covariates, physicians were more likely to produce more beneficial and higher quality videos as compared with nonmedical influencers (β = 2.4 and 1.3, p < 0.01, respectively). However, physicians did not have significantly different ratings for understandability compared with nonmedical influencers (β = 0.45, p > 0.05).DiscussionAOM content on TikTok is often geared toward caretakers of symptomatic children. Although physician‐created AOM content was significantly higher quality, these videos reached a statistically smaller audience than those from nonmedical influencers. Addressing misinformation on social media platforms requires physicians to reach larger audiences by producing more actionable and understandable content.Level of EvidenceNA Laryngoscope, 2024

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TikTok and Its Role in COVID-19 Information Propagation

Cited by 90 publications

References 3 publications

Characterizing COVID-19 Content Posted to TikTok: Public Sentiment and Response During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Characterizing COVID-19 Content Posted to TikTok: Public Sentiment and Response During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic

On the Psychology of TikTok Use: A First Glimpse From Empirical Findings

“Does My Kid Have an Ear Infection?” An Analysis of Pediatric Acute Otitis Media Videos on TikTok

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