Promoting Mental Wellbeing: Young Adults’ Experience on TikTok during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31211/interacoes.n40.2021.a1Keywords:
Social Media, TikTok, Short Videos, Isolation, COVID-19Abstract
From the last quarter of 2019, the world witnessed the emergence of the COVID -19 virus that shook it to its knees, and Nigeria is not an exception. While countries were struggling with strategies on how to manage the virus, the lockdown option became paramount. During the period of the lockdown in Nigeria, most persons, especially young people, could not visit places of their choice. Hence, social media became their source of solace. This study examines the experiences of young adults in using TikTok to minimise the negative effect of isolation during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. The authors interviewed ten young persons between the ages of 19 to 31. A thematic analysis of the interviews using Braun and Clark (2006) steps for conducting thematic analysis revealed four overarching themes that describe the participants' experiences on TikTok during the lockdown. Prominent among the themes, the study uncovered how TikTok short videos excelled in impacting the research participants therapeutically; easing boredom, and impacting positively on their mental health. The present study suggests that TikTok short videos could be a phenomenon that could be adopted by individuals or even health professionals, especially psychotherapists in managing or treating patients in similar situations like the COVID-19 compulsory lockdown.
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