Body image

From the discipline of psychology, body image refers to the mental representation of the size, shape and form of our body (in general and its parts); that is, how the person visualizes him/herself and how he/she believes others see him/her. In addition, body image involves the feelings towards the body (dissatisfaction, concern, satisfaction, etc.) and how one acts with respect to it (exhibition, avoidance, etc.). ¹⁶ This body image is part of the physical self-concept, which corresponds to one of the most important dimensions in creating the adolescent's self-concept and is subject to sociocultural events, such as advertising, information, family environment and friendships. ¹⁶ For this category, the following codes were analyzed: use of filters, clothing, body adornment and hair.

For the code use of filters, it is important to mention before, that the base platform contains programming that allows “beautifying” the faces through a filter of the same name, which is predetermined when starting an account in TikTok, so that all videos contain a filter that allows “perfecting the features”. In the videos analyzed, it can be highlighted that in 46 of the 50 videos, the most used filter is the “basal filter”, which distorts the body image of adolescents, adjusting to the canons of beauty chosen by the network, which is in line with current trends in order to achieve the standard of beauty they use, where mostly the resulting image is far from who they really are.

The clothing code shows a trend of what is “acceptable” or “fashionable” for adolescents, ¹⁷⁾ since there is a marked dress preference throughout the review of the videos and a notable difference between the different genders when dressing. Although the majority of the videos, in 36 of the 50 videos analyzed, are created by females, there is still a large gap that allows distinguishing preferences by gender. Within the feminine, we can observe an inclination to a style of clothing that highlights the silhouette and body shape, either in the use of skin-tight dresses, crop tops or tight clothes, from which we can conclude that they seek to achieve the prototype imposed by society for the female gender. On the other hand, in all the videos of the male gender ¹³, he prefers to use a trend of loose sportswear, with dark tones, highlighting the use of recognized brands visibly stamped on the clothes or sneakers, so that it is noticeable where his clothes come from. In this way, it is interpreted that the male gender does not give more importance to highlight their physique than the females, by using a more relaxed, sober and loose clothing style, but they are more concerned about the monetary value, recognition and popularity of the garment to be used, implying that part of their body image and status is given by this. On the other hand, the only person identified with the non-binary gender, combines garments with influences of both genders, such as the use of skirt and pants, tight and black clothes, so it can be inferred that they also give importance to their body image.

The third code is use of body adornment, present in all the videos, which involves any accessory, object, or invasive aesthetic procedure (piercings, tattoos, others) or non-invasive (hair coloring, hairstyles, etc.). These adornments allow adolescents to feel comfortable with their own body and the way they look, which also allows them to fit in with fashion trends, and even to represent or have a significant object or souvenir, which they are not afraid to show or make visible to onlookers.

The fourth and last code in this category is hair, which, although it is a natural feature, is also an important part of the construction of the body image, to which different styles of cuts, colors, shapes and accessories are added, representing a particular style and form of expression for each person. Throughout the analysis, it was observed that the extension of hair is different for different genders, because society has imposed customs for each one, affecting the expression and own decision of how to use or have hair. In conclusion, 30 of the 36 women used long, loose, and natural colored hair. Although some colored hair was observed, these were found in a smaller proportion, only in 6 videos, being mainly colors similar to the natural ones and a smaller number of artificial colors (only 2), as well as men. In relation to the person of non-binary gender, the length of her hair was up to her shoulders, she had colored hair in artificial tones, it was straightened and did not present any special hairstyle.

Expressions

The category expressions is understood as a form of communication through body language that uses gestures, postures and movements and face, transmitting information about the emotions and thoughts of the sender. It is usually performed at an unconscious level and is usually a very clear indicator of the emotional state of the person. ¹⁸ Within this category, two codes could be identified, positive expressions and negative expressions.

The positive expressions code incorporates emotions and attitudes such as joy, tranquility, empowerment, sensuality and coquetry.

On the other hand, the code negative expressions involves diverse emotions such as anger, sadness, worry, among others. When comparing both codes, it is observed that the former is repeated to a greater extent than the latter, which may be associated with the fact that most of the videos analyzed were dances or humorous videos, which clearly tend to express positive emotions in this social network.

The expression most frequently observed within the positive code is joy, present in 44 of the 50 videos, where adolescents use dance or humorous videos or other means to express this emotion and/or transmit it to the viewers. The expressions that also had a strong presence are sensuality and coquetry, (considering the latter with a more innocent connotation than the former), these expressions were observed only in videos of females, who mainly used dances to mark their fluid and sensual movements or videos where they sang a song according to the expression indicated and showed gestures or body movements of this type.

On the other hand, in 5 videos, the most repeated negative expression in the videos is annoyance, both towards parental figures and socially incorrect situations, where they expose some experiences or points of view on a specific topic and explicitly or implicitly invite the viewers to give their opinion about it.

In addition, it is important to mention that in the data collection a video was analyzed in which a teenager exposed her suicidal ideation in a comical or ironic way, seriously minimizing this worrying situation, which is in line with the trends and normalization of these issues of current generations, which speak openly about serious mental health problems such as depression or suicidal ideation, but in a romanticized and even humorous way. It is inferred that this social network and probably other similar ones, are a source of venting for adolescents, whether they are experiencing positive or negative feelings, they seek to channel these through the application and express them by sharing them with their audience, and mainly seek validation, understanding or admiration from their peers.

Sound resources

For the category sound resources, we understand those resources used in the videos that constitute the corpus and are characterized by being different sounds used as forms of expression. These sonorities carry diverse symbolic connotations, which, in turn, can express moods, identities and sense of belonging. In other words, they become a means for each adolescent to find his or her own form of self-representation. ¹⁹ In accordance with the above and because of the analysis of the videos, different codes were found, such as music, dialogues of scenes from movies or series, melodies and own voice. Within this set, the code that is most used is music, in which different genres can be appreciated.

As for the music code, it can be understood as a means used by adolescents to externalize their own emotions, sensations and feelings in an indirect way, and also to construct their identity. ⁽¹⁹ These characteristics are key to this age group. Their musical preferences are mainly concentrated in the reggaeton genre and its subgenre, trap. These are accompanied by explicitly sexual lyrics, together with a predominant associated dance called perreo.² In accordance, in the videos analyzed that used reggaeton or trap music as background music, the adolescents perform gestures, dances, sensual, flirtatious, and obscene movements, and their clothing tends to be short and tight, casual or sporty.

Therefore, this social network is a platform that adolescents use for personal expression, so it is possible to infer that the use of this type of content and resources (trap and reggaeton) is related to their current interests and experiences. This is interesting in health areas related to risky sexual behavior, teenage motherhood and fatherhood, and substance use. A significant increase in these aspects can be observed during the adolescent period, where a link can be established between these types of songs, which are to their liking and represent them. The normalization and popularity of this type of behavior is harmful for these people, as it can predispose them to teenage pregnancy and substance abuse. The latter behavior generates significant neurological damage since their nervous system is still developing.²⁰ In addition, these musical tendencies promote risky behaviors, such as accidents, overdoses, violent behaviors, among others. On the other hand, it is also possible to identify an important influence on depressive, anxious and suicidal states. ²¹

As a sound resource, dialogues from movie scenes and series were also used, showing that the means for their representations are not limited to only one, but rather it is the massive and representative use of a sound resource that will determine whether it will be preferred or not for these contents. Unfortunately, as there were only 2 videos that presented this characteristic, it is not possible to conclude another trend for its uses.

As for the own voice, it also takes different forms, but it is generalized in its own voices. This instrument is vital for the communication between the one who emits and the one who watches. By means of mechanisms of tonality and intensity of the voice, effects of accentuation and intonation are created, which can transmit different emotions or interpreting different characters in the video, even without the support of spoken language. As the psychological activity of sender and receiver is implied, the above devices serve to mention the meaning and emotional intention of speech.

Among the different videos selected, the ones that use own voice the most are the humorous ones, 29 out of the 50 videos. This is because adolescents often use their own resources to give greater emphasis to what they want to convey through their content. Moreover, they are also closely related to those of the personal information code, where they use different intonations and costumes to represent the characters of the fictitious or real situations that they stage.

Content type

The category of type of content as the common theme or category in which a video can be classified, according to its characteristics and mainly the purpose of the central message transmitted or content, i.e., if the objective of the video is to amuse the public, its code corresponds to humor, whereas if the motive is to promote the product to be marketed, the type of content will be advertising. ⁽¹⁹ Within the video there can be both verbal and non-verbal messages and these, in turn, can be sound or visual, this set of elements reflects what is sought to convey to the receiver, which in this case are the users of the platform and according to what they seek to express. In this context, the following codes were analyzed: dance, humor, transmission of personal information and advertising.

Regarding the dance code, it can be observed that this type of videos was essentially made by females, highlighting the cheerful, feminine, flirtatious and sensual body movements, but at the same time steps of popular choreographies performed mostly by influencers that are repeated according to the trends. It follows that adolescents seek to achieve greater recognition and popularity through the creation of trending content such as dances with pre-established choreographies and the projection of a body image that meets current standards of beauty, in order to feel admired and/or loved by others.

As for the humor code, it can be observed that there is no great difference according to gender in terms of the users who make this type of videos, and these correspond to representations of everyday situations, highlighting those in which the adolescent also plays an adult female character, usually a mother or grandmother, using a towel or handkerchief to represent the change of characters. This makes it possible to visualize the perception that adolescents have of adults, specifically their relatives, considering that they react in an exaggerated manner and that they have a worldview of the world different from theirs. ²²

On the other hand, it is important to mention that adolescents, through these humorous videos, tend to normalize or underestimate some important health situations, such as risky sexual behaviors and teenage motherhood/parenthood or suicide. This can lead them to acquire risky behaviors for their health, since they do not contemplate the real and potential consequences that these types of situations can have.

In relation to the third code transmission of personal information, it was observed in all the videos, except two of the female gender, in terms of users who make this type of videos. Within these, a very popular trend on the platform stands out, which consists of delivering personal information and characteristics of all kinds. From this it can be inferred that adolescent girls adopt a perspective of self-objectification, considering themselves as a body that is constantly observed and evaluated, and that can become someone else's possession, such as a partner.²³ This can impact in various ways on their health, normalizing and perpetuating situations of violence.

Regarding the code advertising, we observed a young person who promotes his products through the platform, indicating where they can make inquiries or orders, and asking other users to help him spread the information. This could lead us to infer that adolescents seek small instances of work, such as the sale of handicrafts, to earn some money, either out of economic necessity or as a means of saving. ²⁴⁾ This is relevant, given the illegality of child labor in Latin America, as determined by the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which establishes that they should not be allowed to perform any type of work, much less those that may harm their health, education and development. ²⁵ However, this contradicts the economic reality of many countries and the needs that these adolescents may have. Notwithstanding the above, it is important to point out the term progressive autonomy, which is also considered in this Declaration. This term establishes that adolescents also progressively acquire autonomy as they grow older, and in this sense, the search for income through volunteer work could be understood as part of their personal growth. ⁽²⁵

Opinions

The category opinions is understood as “subjective expressions, constructed on the basis of values, principles and feelings of a particular individual”. ²⁶ Opinions can be expressed through different media. In the case of the social network TikTok, these can be expressed through written comments or video responses, provided that the person posting allows it. In this context, written comments will be analyzed, which can be categorized in the codes positive comments or negative comments.

In the positive comments code, comments with references to support, identification, admiration, interest, praise and advice were considered. For example, when a situation experienced by the adolescent was shown through a video, and those who viewed it usually offered encouragement to overcome the situation (in the case of a tragic situation). Or, in the case of an everyday situation that attracted the attention of this age group, many of their peers felt identified and showed their support in the comments. Another type of comment observed was praise for the physical appearance of the content creators. This could be observed in both male and female videos, but to a greater extent in the latter.

The comments had different approaches, for example, when talking about physical aspects, people asked about exercise routines, while in relation to clothing, they asked about the store where these clothes were purchased. This highlights one of the central axes of the functioning of this social network, which could be characterized as the idealization of a physical appearance considered unattainable.

Within the negative comments, there were comments of criticism, questioning, uncertainty, sexualization of minors, bullying, advice and non-validated therapies, among others. Although these are a type of interaction allowed by the platform and users, since they are part of the right to freedom of expression of individuals, they often exceed the limits of respect and dignity of human beings (such as comments on weight and body image, manipulation of negative behaviors, mockery and denigration, among others) who, in turn, are exposed to this type of transgressions. Those who provoke such transgressions take refuge behind a screen, making it easier for this type of interaction to affect the self-esteem of those who create the content, thus becoming a health risk for adolescents.

It is important to point out that there are still no legal remedies to protect adolescents on social networks, let alone international agreements that can hold responsible and incriminate anyone who harasses or assaults a minor virtually.

Although in the analysis carried out, most of the comments were positive, this could have been manipulated by the creator of the video, who can delete comments that are not to his/her liking and even block other users. However, on the TikTok platform there is great exposure to cruel and denigrating comments, sexual harassment, dissemination of erroneous information, among others, which can have repercussions in different spheres of the health and lives of adolescents. ²⁷

Health behaviors

For the category health behaviors, the codes health-promoting behaviors and non-health-promoting behaviors can be recognized. It should be noted that, due to the short duration of the videos, these behaviors could not be identified in all the audiovisual creations analyzed.

In the videos where health behaviors can be recognized, they were mainly found to be non-health promoting, visualizing risky actions such as the incorrect use of masks on public roads (in the context of a pandemic), unhealthy eating and the minimization of the seriousness of mental health disorders, among others. The latter could be related to the low-risk perception of adolescents. This phenomenon is associated with multiple factors, but among them, we could highlight the social pressure exerted by their peers and the image that adolescents have of their referents regarding health behaviors.

On the contrary, as health-promoting behaviors, it was only observed in one video, where an adolescent recounts how she had a good adherence to her psychological therapy despite the scarce family support she received, which reaffirms the progressive stigmatization of diseases associated with mental health and their treatments. ²⁸