Citation

Fowler LR, Schoen L, Morain SR. J. Adolesc. Health 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.07.033

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Social media is a central fixture of American adolescent life. TikTok, a video-sharing application (app), stands out as particularly popular, with over 80 million monthly active users in the United States--of which 32.5% are between the ages of 10-19. TikTok videos, which are one minute or less in duration, include a subset of videos discussing topics covered in comprehensive sex education and health classes. App- and web-based content on sexual health has clear appeal to adolescents and young adults who may be eager to learn about these subjects in a discreet, inclusive manner and who may lack other avenues to obtain sex and health information. Consequently, TikTok holds considerable promise to educate on often overlooked aspects of sexual, physical, interpersonal, and emotional health. However, the nature of TikTok also presents at least three challenges for adolescent sex education.

Language: en