3.2 TIKTOK: A NEW PLAYGROUND FOR THE CHILD PSYCHIATRIST?

Abstract

This presentation aims to detail how mental health practitioners are utilizing TikTok to provide psychoeducation and how their participation has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashvin Sood, MD, will present on data (age, daily use of SMP, interests, and gender) collected from January 1, 2018 to February 1, 2021 from App Ape and Hootsuite/We Are Social to examine adolescent TikTok use. He will examine trends among other social medial platforms compared to TikTok. Afterwards, he will present 4 therapist TikTok profiles to illustrate their growth in following narrative messages they portray during the COVID-19 pandemic to children and teens. TikTok has over 1 billion users worldwide, with 69% of users between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Twenty-nine percent of US teens have marketed TikTok as their favorite social media platform. The 4 therapists that will be examined have between 134,700 and 932,000 followers, with increased subscription to a therapist’s TikTok occurring during the pandemic. Video content from therapists include coping techniques, understanding anxiety and depression, and how to seek mental health treatment. The presentation will highlight how prevalent TikTok has become among the child and adolescent populations around the world. Mental health providers can offer psychoeducation through social media platforms, which is an opportunity to reach child and adolescent populations on a global scale.