Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Infodemiology
Date Submitted: Sep 19, 2022
Date Accepted: Sep 30, 2023
Date Submitted to PubMed: Oct 13, 2023
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
#MyBodyMyChoice: How young people share reproductive health experiences on TikTok
ABSTRACT
Background:
The social media app TikTok allows users to create and share content through short videos. It has become a place for everyday users, especially Gen-Z women, to share experiences about their reproductive health because of its growing popularity and easy accessibility TikTok can help raise awareness for reproductive health issues and help destigmatize these conversations.
Objective:
To identify and understand the content TikTok users are sharing about their reproductive health experiences.
Methods:
To narrow the analytic dataset, a sampling framework was implemented from the millions of TikTok videos. The top six videos from each targeted hashtag (e.g., #BirthControl, #MyBodyMyChoice, and #LoveYourself) were extracted on a biweekly basis for 16 weeks (July – November 2020). Qualitative content analysis was utilized on the extracted videos.
Results:
Top videos in each hashtag were consistent over time; for example, only 11 videos appeared in the top six for #BirthControl throughout the data collection. Most of the videos fell into two primary categories: personal experiences and informational content. Among the personal experiences, people shared stories (e.g., IUD removal experiences), crafts (e.g., painting their Pill case), or humor (e.g., celebrations of the arrival of their period). In the informational content, dancing and demonstrations were commonly used.
Conclusions:
Results suggest Gen-Z uses TikTok to share messages about myriad sexual and reproductive health topics. This study provides new information on how a younger demographic shares information related to reproductive health outcomes during the pandemic. Study findings can be used to generate valuable information for teens and young adults, their healthcare providers, and their communities. By conducting this content analysis on TikTok, we will be able to produce health messages that are both meaningful and accessible, contributing to the co-creation of critical health information for professional and personal use. Clinical Trial: N/A
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