Empowering breast cancer patients – TikTok as a platform for self-presentation and health advocacy

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Self-presentation is a social interaction process in which individuals portray themselves in a certain way, displaying their characteristics, specific qualities, and beliefs to create a desired impression (Schlenker & Wowra, 2003). However, this process is more complex for those diagnosed with breast cancer, whose image is affected by physical and mental challenges that are faced while undergoing treatment (Faria et al., 2021). In the past decades, the creation of a self-image and the discussion of health-related topics have been facilitated by social media platforms (Heldman et al., 2013), where both organizations and individuals can engage in discussions, disseminate information, and influence public perception about health matters (Uchino, 2006). With breast cancer diagnoses among younger demographics on the rise (Abott, 2024; Zhao et al., 2023), TikTok, a growing social media with approximately 1.9 billion users worldwide by 2023 (GilPress, 2023), has become a pertinent tool for disseminating information, raising awareness, and fostering support communities (Basch et al., 2022), however, that has not been fully investigated in social sciences. Therefore, this study aims to cover a research gap in the usage of TikTok by breast cancer patients and survivors to support health communication and self-presentation. From a methodological perspective, the research applies netnography (Kozinets, 2015) and qualitative content analysis (Krippendorff, 2004) to evaluate videos (N=150) from the top five most popular breast cancer influencers as of January 2024. The content was double-coded following a codebook based on previous research and a pilot study to assess the patterns, actions, and strategies associated with the content provided by these creators. The results shed light on TikTok's potential for breast cancer patients and survivors' self-presentation and its contribution to enhancing public discourse, reducing fear and stigmatization surrounding the topic.