Not Just Doctor

Abstract: This paper argues that the affordances of social media platforms, such as TikTok, have allowed health and wellness influencers to spread misinformation. However, it may also provide an opportunity for qualified health professionals to counteract this information. Based on research on available literature, this paper will discuss the reasons people use social media platforms to access health and wellness information, how health and wellness misinformation provided by influencers without formal qualifications may be perceived as credible by their audience and how qualified medical professionals can use the same tactics used by these influencers to counteract the incorrect information provided. Concepts such as micro-celebrity and calibrated expertise are analysed to support the argument and will contribute to the emerging research on how health professionals can utilize TikTok to provide accurate health and wellness information.

 

TikTok is one of the several social media platforms that utilises short-form video, allowing users to create, share and discover content with millions of people globally. Since its launch in 2016, TikTok is fast becoming one of the most popular social media sites with approximately 655 million active users in 2021 (Statista, 2022). TikTok can be used for a variety of reasons including (but not limited to): entertainment, comedy, as a pastime, and as an educational tool. TikTok provides a platform for many niche communities to come together, such as the health and wellness community. With the increasing amount of health and wellness content available on TikTok, and the way many users determine the credibility of the creator that posted or shared content, there is an increased risk of users being misinformed when seeking out health information. While TikTok has community guidelines in place, including that of the sharing of misinformation (TikTok, 2023), there are ways creators can mask the subject of their content, such as changing certain letters for numbers or symbols in the caption. Influencers form a significant part of the TikTok community and use self-presentation as a tool so they appear authentic and relatable to their followers which may affect how TikTok consumers determine if the content is credible.  Harff et al. (2022) defines an influencer as “regular people who became well-known on social media due to their efficient self-presentation on these platforms” (para. 2). Therefore, it can be said that qualified medical professionals, such as dieticians and exercise physiologists, can become influencers by efficiently utilising self-presentation to relate to their audiences and provide credible sources of information to the health and fitness community. This paper will argue that while the affordances of TikTok have allowed influencers to spread misinformation about health, they also provide an opportunity for qualified medical professionals to counteract these incorrect health messages.

 

Using social media platforms to seek out health information is one of the many ways users build relationships within their online communities and networks. Jaidka et al. (2021) argues that because of the simplicity and speed it takes to communicate online, people may be more open to disclosing personal information and has found that using social media platforms to disclose health and personal concerns improves online relationships due to an increase in perceived and enacted social support. The introduction of new communication technologies, such as mobile phones and the introduction of social media platforms have allowed people to overcome previous spatial limits (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). Hampton and Wellman, (2018) also found that mobile phones significantly contributed to this trend as it significantly reduced the amount of time and resources it took to maintain formed communities as users were no longer required to be in front of a desktop computer or physically present. Therefore, many people are more likely to seek out health information from online sources using their mobile phone since it removes the need to find time to set an appointment and physically visit a qualified health professional.

 

Before the proliferation of social media sites, health information was already available on the internet via traditional websites, such as nutrition, personal trainer company websites and medical websites like Mayo Clinic. While many health consumers will still use these websites, the recent spike in health information available on hedonic social media sites, like TikTok, and the popularity of these sites among these consumers has converted them into an important source of health information (Song et al., 2022). However, the usage of social media sites to seek health information is not just for the purpose of a specific health issue that a person is experiencing. Song et al., (2022) found that the reason people seek health information on social media platforms was due to several other needs, such as trying something different, or they simply encounter health information that surprises them. Seeking health information on social media platforms can also be used to engage with a community for emotional support. For example, people can use social media to engage with peers and professionals for experiential or practical information on how to handle challenges of a particular health issue they are concerned about (Song et al., 2021). The affordances of video-based platforms, such as TikTok, can result in stronger emotional reactions and provides motivation for users to act on their health concerns (Song et al., 2021). While the primary purpose of TikTok is entertaining content, the rate at which creators have been using the platform to spread information regarding medical information and treatments has increased (O’Sullivan, 2022). This may be problematic as anyone is able to become a creator on the TikTok platform and may not hold any formal qualifications or expertise regarding the information they are sharing.

 

There are many different types of content creators on TikTok. One of the more common types of content creators on TikTok are known as influencers. Influencers are micro-celebrities that have come about due to the advent of social media. Interactive communication between influencers and their audience is made possible since they are pre-dominantly active on social media platforms (Xu et al., 2022).  Social media platforms have significantly contributed to the way influencers can establish a strong online identity and personal brand as creators can package and perform the way they wish to be perceived by their audience (Khamis et al., 2017). Not only does the term micro-celebrity refer to the person themselves, but also the processes they use to grow their influence and take on the same positioning as traditional celebrities (Lewis, 2019). Lewis (2019), argues that micro-celebrity allows “regular” internet users to grow their influence and produce their own media, making it a form of participatory culture. She also states that the performance of micro-celebrity techniques involves strategically developing intimacy with fans, along with treating their audiences as fans and ensuring their content is perceived as authentic by their audience (Lewis, 2019).

 

Once relationships have been formed between influencers and their audiences, followers may find the information influencers provide credible based on how they perceive the relatability, normality and authenticity of the influencer providing the information (Harff et al., 2022). While TikTok provides a way for diverse people to connect and offers an engaging experience for users, the quality of health advice provided by videos on the platform is a concern (Zenone et al., 2021). Zenone et al. (2021) found evidence that medical advice and the discussion of health-related topics by TikTok influencers receives a substantial amount of engagement. There are also concerns that the intensity of dangerous health trends and misinformation have increased since health and wellness influencers portray themselves as being health experts (Southerton & Clark, 2022). Zenone et al. (2021) confirms that the qualifications and conflicts of interest of the person offering advice, along with the quality of the information provided, are widely unknown. According to Lewis and Grantham (2022) short-form videos on TikTok can provide substantial content, and influencers can convince their viewers within 15 seconds, resulting in likes, follows, views and the sharing of the information they have provided. This is what, in the context of health information, makes TikTok appealing to audiences (M. Lewis & Grantham, 2022).

 

The appealing nature of TikTok also provides qualified health professionals an opportunity to counter these incorrect health messages, providing they utilise the same micro-celebrity tactics as influencers and have a good understanding on how to utilise the affordances of the TikTok platform. Using the field of dermatology as an example, Cooper et al. (2022) found that in a study where 171 videos related to dermatology were surveyed, nearly half were posted either by patients or by influencers who were not medically trained. He also found that the quality of the content in these videos was low, even if the videos had a large view count or were perceived as popular (Cooper et al., 2022). One of the ways health professionals will be able to utilise the affordances of TikTok to counter the misinformation in these posts is the unique feature of the duet function. By using this feature, qualified dermatologists will be able to directly respond to incorrect information with their own videos, which are displayed to the side of the original post (Cooper et al., 2022). Using the duet feature also has the potential to promote further interaction with the creator and other audience members in the comment section, which may create stronger bonds within the health community on TikTok.

 

While health professionals may hold the required credentials to assist with the credibility of the information they share, they will likely be required to use micro celebrity tactics to engage their audience and increase their following on social media to make their content more visible. Maddox (2021) argues that some influencers have created their personal brands on social media through sharing their occupational and professional expertise, while still utilising the micro-celebrity self-presentation technique. These techniques include the requirement to perform a public persona consumed by their audience, appeal to their audience by using strategic intimacy, and refer to their audience as a fan-base (Maddox, 2021). “Calibrated expertise” is a term proposed by Maddox (2021), which refers to the strategy used by experts who utilise aspects of micro-celebrity, the dynamics of social media platforms and social media affordances. Calibrated expertise is a strategy used by influencers who utilise micro-celebrity by converting their primary occupation into information and expertise shared with their audience (Maddox, 2021). By combining the calibrated expertise strategy, along with the affordances provided on the TikTok platform, qualified medical professionals have a significant opportunity to utilise TikTok to help counteract health misinformation shared on social media platforms.

 

The affordances of TikTok have contributed to a spread of misinformation by health influencers, however these affordances, along with the self-presentation techniques used by these influencers, also provides ample opportunity for qualified health professionals to counteract these incorrect health messages. The number of people seeking health information and forming communities is rapidly increasing on social media platforms, like TikTok, due to the fact seeking out this information is often accompanied by other needs. These needs include wanting to simply try a different approach to their health concerns or finding emotional support from other people who experience the same health issues. Influencers form a large part of the health and wellness community on TikTok and by utilising the micro-celebrity techniques discussed in this paper, many influencers are perceived as credible sources of information by their audiences. However, there are some cases where influencers will present themselves as health and wellness experts on social media platforms, even though they may have a lack of formal qualifications. Since influencers are regular people that have efficiently utilised micro-celebrity techniques as part of their self-presentation strategies, qualified health professionals can utilise these same techniques to become social media influencers and use their expertise and formal qualifications to counteract misinformation shared by unqualified health and wellness influencers. These techniques, along with utilising the affordances of TikTok, such as the duet function is one of the many ways health professionals will be able to convey these counter messages.

 

References

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