Teenagers and young adults who use TikTok for sex education can be vulnerable to misinformation, according to an article co-authored by Professor Leah Fowler, a research assistant at the University of Houston Law Center.
“TikTok’s Sex Education: Content Analysis of Themes” was published in a peer-reviewed journal earlier this year. Practice of health promotion.. Fowler’s co-authors include Stephanie Morin, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, Hadley Stephen Smith, a health policy fellow at Baylor College of Medicine, and Lauren Shane, a former research coordinator at Baylor College of Medicine and a JD candidate for the Faculty of Law at the University of Texas. Was there.
TikTok is a video-based social media platform featuring short video formats. Initially released in September 2016, the company has reached more than a billion active users worldwide, the company said in a statement released in September.
“TikTok is a popular social media platform among young people,” the article said. “For some, it’s sex educationThe video can reach millions of viewers in the United States and billions of viewers worldwide. This ecosystem is mainly outside the parent’s field of view, Health provider, And an educator, and may offer a different sex education curriculum than what is taught at home, in the clinic, and at school. Most of the video is user-generated content, with small subsets created by private or public institutions, such as companies marketing products.
“As a result, not all videos provide factual information. TikTok’s community guidelines and terms of use are now available. human body, The app does not regulate or monitor content or provide disclaimers for false information or unconfirmed claims, other than prohibiting and mitigating the creation of pornography or other inappropriate content. “
Research discusses a limited range of sex education, This is traditionally taught in schools, homes, or community or religious centers.This study suggests that stakeholders such as parents, clinicians, and educators need to actively initiate sexual conversations. health Topics while providing factual information.
“Teenage is Private space To explore these themes, passive video consumption does not provide a way to ask questions or ask for additional information from trusted resources, “the article states. Healthcare professional As a popular content creator, he has been actively involved with TikTok, providing science-based content, answering questions from other users, and responding to false viral videos. The amount of content available on TikTok continues to grow and it is not practical to deal with all the incorrect information. There is no guarantee that users will encounter these modified videos. ”
