A study of adolescents’ and young adults’ TikTok challenge participation in South India

Involvement in social media activities has become a significant aspect of adolescents’ lives. Participation in numerous social media challenges with a variety of goals is also common among youth across platforms. Recently, the new app called TikTok has resulted in an increased level and variety of social media activities among youth. This study examines the factors related to participation in TikTok challenges, their potential impacts on adolescents and young adults, and participant reflection after performing a challenge. We recruited 25 adolescents and young adults who were actively involved in TikTok challenges from several secondary schools and colleges in South India. We administered a semi-structured, retrospective interview after screening participants through an online survey. The interview assessed motivations for participation, content of social media posts, and perceived consequences of participation. Based on the integrated behavior model, we conducted a theoretically grounded thematic analysis of the data. Our thematic analysis revealed that the factors closely related to the integrated behavior model motivated participation, such as attitudes, norms, personal agency, knowledge and skill, environmental constraints, habits, and individual differences. Further, one of the most frequent reasons reported as a motivational factor was being affirmed by others or peer pressure. Participants typically reported enjoying these challenges and experiencing positive feelings after completing the challenge. Overall, the participants seemed to have positive views of TikTok challenges and enjoyed the views and likes that came from posting about their participation in the challenge. Irrespective of the type of challenge participated in, the participants commented that taking part in online challenges is enjoyable and makes them feel confident. In sum, these adolescents appear to spend large amounts of time on TikTok due to the lure of online challenges and associated emotional states

The availability and characteristics of patient-focused YouTube videos related to oral hygiene instruction

Introduction: YouTube is a popular social media platform that is being increasingly used for the distribution of healthcare-related information. To date, there appear to be no published studies assessing the quality of oral hygiene instruction provided by YouTube videos. Objective: To assess the availability, quality and accuracy of patient-focused YouTube videos aiming to provide oral hygiene instruction. Method: YouTube videos meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated for quality and information accuracy using an eight-item, evidence-based checklist relating to important aspects in the prevention of caries and periodontal disease. Results: Fifty-two relevant videos were included; 20 videos (38.5%) were produced by lay people (social media influencers and bloggers) who had no professional qualifications. None of the included videos contained accurate information relating to all eight items of the evidence-based checklist. Seven videos contained none of the information from the checklist. Numerous videos contained health advice which was not scientifically sound. Conclusion: The results of this study highlight that currently available YouTube videos may not contain evidence-based information relating to oral hygiene instruction. There are also concerns regarding the lack of regulation and quality assurance processes in the development of healthcare-related YouTube videos. Currently, clinicians should be cautious when advising patients to utilise YouTube as a source of information regarding oral health