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The Role of TikTok in Students’ Health and Wellbeing.

Talbot, C., 2024. The Role of TikTok in Students’ Health and Wellbeing. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. (In Press)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11469-023-01224-6

Abstract

Students are exposed to various academic, financial and psychosocial stressors while studying at a university, and have increasingly turned to social media to alleviate stress and access social support. While evidence suggests that social networking sites may promote health awareness and health-protective behaviours, little research has explored TikTok, a relatively new platform with over 800 million active users. Seven university students (6 females, 1 non-binary; all White British; mean age = 20.57) were interviewed about their experiences on TikTok, their motivations behind using it and its effects on their psychological wellbeing. A thematic analysis of this data revealed that while TikTok use temporarily relieved academic stress, it also encouraged addictive behaviour and upward social comparisons. These differential effects were largely mediated by TikTok’s algorithm, which recommended content based on users’ previous interactions.

Item Type:Article
ISSN:1557-1874
Uncontrolled Keywords:Students; Social media; TikTok; Wellbeing; Algorithm
Group:Faculty of Science & Technology
ID Code:39365
Deposited By: Symplectic RT2
Deposited On:09 Jan 2024 15:46
Last Modified:09 Jan 2024 15:46

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