TikTok in Transgender Health: Is It Really Useful for Plastic Surgeons?

Abstract

Purpose:

In 2020, videos with the hashtag #trans had over 6 billion views on the video-sharing application “TikTok.” We aim to analyze TikTok users' engagement with gender-affirming surgery (GAS) content by transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) patients and plastic surgeons.

Methods:

Between August 23 through September 11, 2021, we analyzed the top 14 hashtags for GAS and the top 10 most viewed videos for each hashtag using the TikTok application. We extracted the number of shares, likes, comments, and analyzed the quality of video comments, content, and creator.

Results:

Transmasculine top surgery (n=53, 37.9%) was the most featured GAS. Most videos were posted by patients (n=104, 74.3%). Videos posted by the patients' significant other (PSO) had a significantly higher number of shares (median [interquartile range (IQR)] 17,850 [18882.5]) and lower rate of negative comments per video (Median [IQR] 0% [0%]) compared with those posted by Patients (median [IQR] 214 [868.25], p=0.045; median [IQR] 0% [5%], p=0.006) or Plastic surgeon (median [IQR] 226.5 [297.25], p=0.02; median [IQR] 5% [10%], p=0.043). Most videos presented postoperative care/results (n=45, 32.1%) and had a significantly higher number of likes (median [IQR] 116,500 [212,700]) compared with educational videos (median [IQR] 20,700 [66,939], p=0.044) and those on TGNB awareness/pride (median [IQR] 31,050 [84226.5], p=0.034).

Conclusion:

TikTok users mostly engage with videos by the PSO on postoperative outcomes compared with educational and TGNB awareness/pride content posted by patients and surgeons. Adapting TikTok content may increase engagement with future patients and family members.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ravikumar

, Kapadia

, Dalena

, et al. Is TikTok the new instagram? Analysis of plastic surgeons on social media. Plast Reconstr Surg, 2021; 147(5):920e–922e; doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000007873

Vardanian

, Kusnezov

, Im

, et al. Social media use and impact on plastic surgery practice. Plast Reconstr Surg, 2013; 131(5):1184–1193; doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e318287a072

Sapra

. Want to bring your Insta self to life through plastic surgery? Look away now…. WIRED. Nervora Technology, Inc; 2020. Available from: https://wired.me/culture/want-to-bring-your-insta-self-to-life-through-plastic-surgery-look-away-now [Last accessed: December 19, 2021].

Dorfman

, Vaca

, Mahmood

, et al. Plastic surgery-related hashtag utilization on instagram: Implications for education and marketing. Aesthetic Surg J, 2018; 38(3):332–338; doi: 10.1093/asj/sjx120

Curry

. Most Popular Apps (2022). Business Apps. 2022. Available from: https://www.businessofapps.com/data/most-popular-apps [Last accessed: November 29, 2022].

Dawson

. How transgender and nonbinary creators are using TikTok to inform, educate. TODAY; 2021. Available from: https://www.today.com/tmrw/how-transgender-nonbinary-creators-are-using-tiktok-inform-educate-t224068 [Last accessed: November 29, 2022].

Zitser

. Trans teens are using TikTok to raise money for their surgery. WIRED. Nervora Technology, Inc; 2020. Available from: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/trans-teens-tiktok-surgery [Last accessed: January 1, 2022].

World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. JAMA, 2013; 310(20):2191–2194; doi: 10.1001/jama.2013.281053

Pothos

, Perlman

, Bailey

, et al. Measuring category intuitiveness in unconstrained categorization tasks. Cognition, 2011; 121(1):83–100; doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2011.06.002

10.

Kentour

, Lu

. An investigation into the deep learning approach in sentimental analysis using graph-based theories. PLoS One, 2021; 16(12):e0260761; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260761

11.

Nandwani

, Verma

. A review on sentiment analysis and emotion detection from text. Soc Netw Anal Min, 2021; 11(1):81; doi: 10.1007/s13278-021-00776-6

12.

Lazarus

, Kakalou

, Palayew

, et al. A Twitter discourse analysis of negative feelings and stigma related to NAFLD, NASH and obesity. Liver Int, 2021; 41(10):2295–2307; doi: 10.1111/liv.14969

13.

Landis

, Koch

. An application of hierarchical kappa-type statistics in the assessment of majority agreement among multiple observers. Biometrics, 1977; 33(2):363–374; doi: 10.2307/2529786

14.

R Core Development Team. R Core Team R: A language and environment for statistical computing. (Version 4.0) [Computer Software]. 2021. Available from: https://cran.r-project.org [Last accessed: December 23, 2022].

15.

Winter

, Diamond

, Green

, et al. Transgender people: Health at the margins of society. Lancet, 2016; 388(10042):390–400; doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00683-8

16.

Abramovich

, de Oliveira

, Kiran

, et al. Assessment of health conditions and health service use among transgender patients in Canada. JAMA Netw Open, 2020; 3(8):e2015036; doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.15036

17.

Kia

, MacKinnon

, Abramovich

, et al. Peer support as a protective factor against suicide in trans populations: A scoping review. Soc Sci Med, 2021; 279:114026; doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114026

18.

James

, Herman

, Rankin

, et al. The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality: Washington, DC; 2016; pp. 7–17.

19.

Harner

. Trans intracommunity support & knowledge sharing in the United States & Canada: A scoping literature review. Health Soc Care Community, 2021; 29(6):1715–1728; doi: 10.1111/hsc.13276

20.

Kailas

, Lu

HMS

, Rothman

, et al. Prevalence and types of gender-affirming surgery among a sample of transgender endocrinology patients prior to state expansion of insurance coverage. Endocr Pr, 2017; 23(7):780–786; doi: 10.4158/EP161727.OR

21.

Nolan

, Kuhner

, Dy

. Demographic and temporal trends in transgender identities and gender confirming surgery. Transl Androl Urol, 2019; 8(3):184–190; doi:10.21037/tau.2019.04.09

22.

, Osbun

, Morrison

, et al. Exposure to and attitudes regarding transgender education among urology residents. J Sex Med, 2016; 13(10):1466–1472; doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.07.017

23.

Song

, Park

, Phong

, et al. Evaluating the quality and reliability of gender-affirming surgery videos on YouTube and TikTok. Plast Reconstr surgery Glob Open, 2022; 10(7):e4443; doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000004443

24.

Kilcoyne

, Rogers

, Thomas

GPL

, et al. Craniofacial surgery-related hashtag utilisation on instagram. J Craniofac Surg, 2021; 32(6):2035–2040; doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000007593

25.

Hamilton

, Kim

, Savetsky

, et al. Social media guidelines for young plastic surgeons and plastic surgery training programs. Plast Reconstr Surg, 2021; 148(2):459–465; doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000008170

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.02 MB

0.00 MB