Does TikTok allow quality debate? A case study on poverty

  1. María-Antonia Paz-Rebollo 1
  2. Ana Mayagoitia-Soria 1
  3. Juan-Manuel González-Aguilar 2
  1. 1 Univ. Complutense de Madrid
  2. 2 Univ. Internacional de la Rioja
Journal:
Comunicación y sociedad = Communication & Society

ISSN: 2386-7876

Year of publication: 2023

Volume: 36

Issue: 4

Pages: 83-97

Type: Article

DOI: 10.15581/003.36.4.83-97 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Comunicación y sociedad = Communication & Society

Sustainable development goals

Abstract

Este artículo analiza si las características de TikTok permiten debates significativos y cómo se realizan. Para ello se utiliza un caso de estudio: las conversaciones de los usuarios sobre las personas en riesgo de exclusión social en un contexto, el de la pandemia y la crisis económica, en el que se han incrementado las privaciones en los países en desarrollo. Se examinan 100 vídeos publicados en España y producidos desde 2020 con este tema, así como 38.462 comentarios. Se aplica un análisis de contenido a los vídeos que incluye características temáticas, técnicas y de estilo; y un análisis textual a los comentarios en el que se tiene en cuenta la dimensión autoral y conversacional. Se concluye que la estructura de TikTok no permite un debate de calidad en este caso de estudio, porque los vídeos ofrecen una visión episódica de los temas, porque los usuarios intervienen, de media, una vez y lo hacen para expresar una opinión basada en experiencias propias o en prejuicios existentes, y porque el debate se enturbia, en este tema concreto, por la existencia de un enfrentamiento generacional. El enjuiciamiento conduce a posturas que generan mensajes crueles, tanto en forma de consejos como en expresiones de humor. El análisis permite afirmar que, en la opinión evidenciada en esta plataforma, existe un fuerte sentimiento de aporofobia. Conviene por ello recomendar la inclusión de este colectivo entre los grupos protegidos en las normas de esta comunidad.

Bibliographic References

  • Anderson, K. E. (2020). Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: It is time to talk about TikTok. Library Hi Tech News, 37(4), 7-12. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-01-2020-0001
  • Basch, C. H., Yalamanchili, B. & Fera, J. (2021a). #Climate Change on TikTok: A Content Analysis of Videos. Journal of Community Health, 47, 163-167. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-01031-x
  • Basch, C. H., Fera, J., Pierce I. & Basch, C. E. (2021b). Promoting Mask Use on TikTok: Descriptive, Cross-sectional Study. JMIR Public Health Surveillance, 7(2), e26392. https://www.doi.org/10.2196/26392
  • Bilewicz, M. & Soral, W. (2020). Hate Speech Epidemic. The Dynamic Effects of Derogatory Language on Intergroup Relations and Political Radicalization. Advances in Political Psychology, 41(1), 3-33. https://www.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12670
  • Bucknell Bossen, C. & Kottasz, R. (2020). Uses and gratifications sought by pre-adolescent and adolescent TikTok consumers. Young Consumers, 21(4), 463-478. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/YC-07-2020-1186
  • Cervi, L., Tejedor, S. & Marín Lladó, C. (2021). TikTok and the new language of political communication: the case of Podemos. Cultura, Lenguaje y Representación, 26, 267-287. https://www.doi.org/10.6035/clr.5817
  • Chen, Q., Chen, M., Zhang, W., Xiaoyue, M. & Evans, R. (2021). Factors Driving Citizen Engagement with Government TikTok Accounts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Model Development and Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(2), e21463. https://www.doi.org/10.2196/21463
  • Cortina, A. (2017). Aporofobia, el rechazo al pobre: un desafío para la democracia. Barcelona: Paidós.
  • Dobele, A., Lindgreen, A., Beverland, M., Vanhamme, J. & van Wijk, R. (2007). Why pass on viral messages? Because they connect emotionally. Business Horizons, 50(4), 291-304. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2007.01.004
  • Dobson, K. & Knezevic, I. (2017). 'Liking and Sharing' the stigmatization of poverty and social welfare: Representations of poverty and welfare through Internet memes on social media. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism & Critique, 15(2), 777-795. https://www.doi.org/10.31269/triplec.v15i2.815
  • EAPN-ES. El estado de la pobreza. Seguimiento del indicador de pobreza y exclusión social en España 2008-2020 (11º Informe, 2021, Madrid). Retrieved from https://www.eapn.es/estadodepobreza/
  • Eurostat (2021). Living conditions in Europe - poverty and social exclusion (October 2021). Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Living_conditions_in_Europe_-_poverty_and_social_exclusion
  • Ganesh, B. (2020). Weaponizing white thymos: flows of rage in the online audiences of the alt-right. Cultural Studies, 34(6), 892-924. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2020.1714687
  • Gal, N. (2019). Ironic humor on social media as participatory boundary work. New Media & Society, 21(3), 729-749. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1461444818805719
  • Gamir-Ríos, J. & Sánchez-Castillo, S. (2022). La irrupción política del vídeo corto. ¿Es TikTok una nueva ventana para los partidos españoles? Communication & Society, 35(2), 37-52. https://www.doi.org/10.15581/003.35
  • Gómez-García, S., Paz-Rebollo, M. A. & Cabeza-San-Deogracias, J. (2021). Newsgames against hate speech in the refugee crisis. Comunicar, 67, 123-133. https://www.doi.org/10.3916/C67-2021-10 https://doi.org/10.3916/C67-2021-10
  • Grimmelmann, J. (2015). The Virtues of Moderation. The Yale Journal of Law & Technology, 17, 42-109.
  • Hautea, S., Parks, P., Takahashi, B. & Zeng, J. (2021). Showing They Care (Or Don't): Affective Publics and Ambivalent Climate Activism on TikTok. Social Media + Society. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/20563051211012344
  • Hootsuite (2022, March 9). 24 Important TikTok Stats Marketers Need to Know in 2022. Hootsuite. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-stats/
  • Informe Foessa (2019). Aporofobia. Nuevos conceptos para viejas realidades. Documento de Trabajo 5.2.
  • Iodice, R. & Papapicco, C. (2021). To be a TikToker in COVID-19 era: An experience of social influence. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 11(1). https://www.doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/9615
  • Kaye, D. B. V., Chen, X. & Zeng, J. (2020). The co-evolution of two Chinese mobile short video apps: Parallel platformization of Douyin and TikTok. Mobile Media & Communication, 9(2), 229-253. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/2050157920952120
  • Kennedy, M. (2020). If the rise of the TikTok dance and e-girl aesthetic has taught us anything, it's that teenage girls rule the internet right now: TikTok celebrity, girls and the Coronavirus crisis. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 23(6), 1069-1076. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1367549420945341
  • Kenski, K., Coe, K. & Rains, S. A. (2020). Perceptions of Uncivil Discourse Online: An Examination of Types and Predictors. Communication Research, 47(6), 795-814. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/00936502176999
  • Literat, I. & Kligler-Vilenchik, N. (2019). Youth collective political expression on social media: The role of affordances and memetic dimensions for voicing political views. New Media & Society, 21(9), 1988-2009. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1461444819837571
  • Medina Serrano, J. C., Papakyriakopoulos, O. & Hegelich, S. (2020). Dancing to the Partisan Beat: A First Analysis of Political Communication on TikTok. Southampton '20: 12th ACM Conference on Web Science. https://www.doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2004.05478 https://doi.org/10.1145/3394231.3397916
  • Ministerio del Interior (2021). Informe sobre la evolución de los delitos de odio en España. Ministerio del Interior. Retrieved from https://www.interior.gob.es/opencms/pdf/archivos-y-documentacion/documentacion-y-publicaciones/publicaciones-descargables/publicaciones-periodicas/informe-sobre-la-evolucion-de-los-delitos-de-odio-en-Espana/Informe_evolucion_delitos_odio_Espana_2021_126200207.pdf
  • Montag, C., Yang, H. & Elhai J. D. (2021). On the Psychology of TikTok Use: A First Glimpse from Empirical Findings. Frontiers in Public Health, 9. https://www.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.641673
  • O'Connor, C. (2021). Hatescape: An In-Depth Analysis of Extremism and Hate Speech on TikTok. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Retrieved from https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/hatescape-an-in-depth-analysis-of-extremism-and-hate-speech-on-tiktok/
  • Olivares-García, F. J. & Méndez-Majuelos, I. (2020). Análisis de las principales tendencias aparecidas en TikTok durante el periodo de cuarentena por la COVID-19. Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud, 243-252. https://www.doi.org/10.20318/recs.2020.5422
  • Omar, B. & Dequan, W. (2020). Watch, Share or Create: The Influence of Personality Traits and User Motivation on TikTok Mobile Video Usage. International Journal of Interactive Mobile Technologies, 14(4), 121-137. https://www.doi.org/10.3991/ijim.v14i04.12429
  • Omnicore (2022, March 13). TikTok by the numbers: Stats, demographics & fun facts. Omnicore. Retrieved from https://www.omnicoreagency.com/tiktok-statistics/
  • Oksanen, A., Hawdo, J., Holkeri, E., Näsi, M. & Räsänen, P. (2014). Exposure to Online Hate among Young Social Media Users. Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, 18, 253-273. https://www.doi.org/10.1108/S1537-466120140000018021
  • Paz-Rebollo, M. A., Cáceres-Zapatero, M. D. & Martín-Sánchez, I. (2021). Suscripción a la prensa digital como contención a los discursos de odio. Profesional de la información, 30(6). https://www.doi.org/10.3145/epi.2021.nov.13
  • Paz-Rebollo, M. A., Mayagoitia-Soria, A. & González-Aguilar, J. M. (2021). From Polarization to Hate: Portrait of the Spanish Political Meme. Social Media + Society, 7(4). https://www.doi.org/10.1177/20563051211062920
  • Papacharissi, Z. (2015). Affective publics and structures of storytelling: Sentiment, events and mediality. Information, Communication & Society, 19(3), 307-324. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2015.1109697
  • Roig, A. & Martorell, S. (2021). A fictional character in a real pandemic: humanization of the Covid-19 virus as a parody account on Twitter. Information, Communication & Society, 24(6), 886-902. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1909094
  • Schellewald, A. (2021). Communicative Forms on TikTok: Perspectives from Digital Ethnography. International Journal of Communication, 15, 1437-1457. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/16414
  • Scherr, S. & Wang, K. (2021). Explaining the success of social media with gratification niches: Motivations behind daytime, nighttime, and active use of TikTok in China. Computers in Human Behavior, 124. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106893
  • TikTok (2022, February 8). Community Guidelines Enforcement Report. TikTok. Retrieved from https://www.tiktok.com/transparency/en/community-guidelines-enforcement-2021-3/
  • Weimann, G. & Masri, N. (2020). Research note: spreading hate on TikTok. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2020.1780027
  • Wang, Y. (2020). Humor and camera view on mobile short-form video apps influence user experience and technology-adoption intent, an example of TikTok (DouYin). Computers in Human Behavior, 110. https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106373
  • Xiao, Y., Wang, L. & Wang, P. (2019). Research on the Influence of Content Features of Short Video Marketing on Consumer purchase intentions. 4th International Conference on Modern Management, Education Technology and Social Science, 351, 415-422. https://www.doi.org/10.2991/mmetss-19.2019.82
  • Yaqi, Z., Lee, Jong-Yoon, L. & Liu, S. (2021). Research on the Uses and Gratifications of Tiktok (Douyin short video). International Journal of Contents, 17(1), 37-53. https://www.doi.org/10.5392/IJoC.2021.17.1.037
  • Zhu, C., Xu, X., Zhang, W., Chen, J. & Evans, R. (2019). How Health Communication via TikTok Makes a Difference: A Content Analysis of TikTok Accounts Run by Chinese Provincial Health Committees. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(1), 192. https://www.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010192
  • Zeng, J. & Abidin, C. (2021). '#OkBoomer, time to meet the Zoomers': studying the memefication of intergenerational politics on TikTok. Information, Communication & Society, 24(16), 2459-2481. https://www.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1961007
  • Zulli, D. & Zulli, D. J. (2020). Extending the Internet meme: Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics on the TikTok platform. New Media & Society. https://www.doi.org/10.1177/1461444820983603
Data source: Dialnet