#Alcohol: Portrayals of Alcohol in Top Videos on TikTok

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize the content and themes present in user-generated TikTok videos portraying alcohol. We captured the 100 most popular videos including the #alcohol hashtag on the popular social networking site TikTok. We used an iterative process to codebook development, resulting in codes for user sentiment toward alcohol, type of alcohol depicted, brand references, degree of alcohol use, and positive/negative associations with alcohol use. Videos were independently double coded, evaluated for inter-rater agreement, and adjudicated if differences were present. The videos in our sample were collectively viewed 291,999,100 times. The vast majority (98%) of videos expressed pro-alcohol sentiment. Nearly half of videos (41%) were guide videos demonstrating drink recipes. The majority of videos (72%) included liquor. Consuming multiple drinks quickly was depicted in more than half of videos (61%), whereas intoxication (13%) was exhibited less frequently. Positive associations with alcohol were prevalent; 69% of videos conveyed positive experiences with alcohol, 55% of videos contained humor, and 45% included associations of alcohol with camaraderie. Negative associations with alcohol were rarely portrayed (4%). Top alcohol-related videos on TikTok are heavily viewed. Their contents demonstrate a propensity to promote rapid consumption of multiple drinks and to juxtapose alcohol use with positive associations such as humor and camaraderie, while rarely depicting negative outcomes associated with hazardous alcohol use.