TikTok as a Form of COVID-19 Discussion Platform of Students from

Bicol University College of Arts and Letters

An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Bicol University

College of Arts and Letters Communication Department
Legazpi City

In partial fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

BARRAMEDA, GESELLE
MACADAT, KATHLEEN MAE
SAN BUENAVENTURA, VIA
 December 2021

Republic of the Philippines

Bicol University
College of Arts and Letters
Communication Department
Legazpi City

   
RECOMMENDATION FOR ORAL EXAMINATION

This thesis entitled “TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 DISCUSSION PLATFORM OF

STUDENTS FROM BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS,” prepared and

submitted by VIA SAN BUENAVENTURA, KATHLEEN MAE MACADAT, and GESELLE

BARRAMEDA in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts in

Communication is hereby submitted to the thesis committee for consideration.

ADRIAN B. AGUILAR, DCOMM

Adviser

THESIS COMMITTEE

The undergraduate thesis entitled “TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 DISCUSSION

PLATFORM OF STUDENTS FROM BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND

LETTERS,” presented and submitted by VIA SAN BUENAVENTURA, KATHLEEN MAE

MACADAT, and GESELLE BARRAMEDA in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree Bachelor of Arts in Communication is hereby submitted to the thesis committee for oral

defense. 
 PROF.MA. APRIL M. MANJARES
Chairman

PROF. SEAN A. MARTIN ANDES PROF. MARIA HAZEL A. ALTAVANO

Member i. Member
Republic of the Philippines

Bicol University

College of Arts and Letters

Communication Department
Legazpi City

RESULTS OF THE ORAL EXAMINATION

Results of the final examination of VIA SAN BUENAVENTURA, KATHLEEN MAE

MACADAT, and GESELLE BARRAMEDA, candidates for the degree Bachelor of Arts in

Communication. Have passed the final examination with a final rating of 96%.

Undergraduate Thesis : TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 DISCUSSION PLATFORM

OF STUDENTS FROM BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS

 Adviser:         ADRIAN B. AGUILAR, DCOMM

Date : December 2021

PANEL OF EXAMINERS     ACTION TAKEN

PROF.MA. APRIL M. MANJARES _______________

Chairman

PROF.SEAN MARTIN A. ANDES _______________

Member

PROF. MARIA HAZEL A. ALTAVANO   

_______________

Member ii

Bicol University

College of Arts and Letters

 Communication Department
Legazpi City

APPROVAL SHEET

Upon the recommendation of the final examination committee, this under graduated thesis

entitled “TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 DISCUSSION PLATFORM OF STUDENTS

FROM BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS ,” prepared and submitted

by VIA SAN BUENAVENTURA, KATHLEEN MAE MACADAT, and GESELLE BARRAMEDA,

is hereby approved as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts in

Communication.

ADRIAN B. AGUILAR, DCOMM

Research Professor/ Department Chair

LETICIA M. LOPEZ, PhD

Dean

iii
 ABSTRACT

Thesis Title: TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 DISCUSSION PLATFORM AMONG

THE STUDENTS OF BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND

LETTERS

Authors: BARRAMEDA, GESELLE

MACADAT, KATHLEEN MAE

SAN BUENAVENTURA, VIA M.

Type of Document: Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis

Bicol University College of Arts and Letters

December 2021

This study explores the TikTok as a form of COVID-19 platform discussion among the

students of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters. The research identified what content

does the respondents watch on TikTok and the role of TikTok in information dissemination. A

survey design method was used to determine the perception and behavior of 180 respondents

from first year to fourth year students from the College of Arts and Letters.

The study answered the following problem: 1) the demographic profile of the

respondents; 2) The behavior of the respondents in using TikTok 3) Perception of the

respondents

Majority of the respondents fall in the range of 18-23 years old who use the application

for a few hours a day and prefer to watch entertainment content rather than health-related
information. Respondents have interest in obtaining information about COVID-19. They also

skipped content or videos on COVID-19 if they saw it already, they would share the information

with their family first. Majority of the respondents would fact-check the information they got on

the site before sharing it with their families.

The following are the recommendations of the study: 1.) To encourage younger generations to

watch and share the COVID-19 related information materials, content creators must make the

content entertaining appealing to the audience. 2.) To improve their guidelines on the type of

content that concerns health or COVID-19 related information that should be published on web

site. 3.) To partner with communication agencies or organizations to make sure the contents are

of in accordance with the Health Standards.

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers wish to express their sincerest gratitude and warm appreciation to the

following persons who had contributed much in helping to the completion of this study.

No words of thanks can sum up the gratitude of the researchers to Professor Adrian

Aguilar, thesis adviser for his help, valuable effort, and support throughout the process of this

study, and for always giving necessary suggestions throughout this process. For guiding the

researchers and communicating with them on the making of this paper.

Professor Ma. April M. Manjares - panel chair, Professor Sean A. Andes and Professor

Maria Hazel A. Altavano – panel members, for their valuable critique and suggestions that helps

the researchers and drive them to the right path and made this paper better. Their valuable efforts

and suggestions from the first to the last part of this paper are appreciated by the researchers.

Bicol University College of Arts Students for lending their time and actively participating

in giving their responses to the questionnaire.

To all relatives, friends, and others who in one way or another shared their support, either

morally, financially, or physically, thank you for giving the researchers the courage to finish the

paper.

Above all, to the Great Almighty, the author of knowledge, wisdom, and wisdom for his

unconditional love. His grace made the researchers strong throughout the making of this paper

and cheered them.

We thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Recommendation for Oral Defense i

Results for Oral Defense ii

Approval Sheet iii

Abstract iv

Acknowledgment v

List of Tables

List of Figures vi

CHAPTER I: THE PROBLEM

Introduction 1

Statement of the Problem 4

Scope and Delimitation 5

Significance of Study 6

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

Related Literature 8

Related Studies 16
Gap Bridged by the Study 29

Theoretical Framework 29

Theoretical Paradigm 30

Conceptual Framework 32

Definition of Terms 33

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY

Research Design 34

Sources of Data 34

Respondents of Study 34

Research Instrument 35

Statistical Procedure 35

Data Gathering Procedure 36

Statistical treatment 36

CHAPTER IV: TIKTOK AS A FORM OF COVID-19 PLATFORM DISCUSSION AMONG THE

STUDENTS OF BICOL UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS 38

CHAPTER V: SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Findings 60
Conclusion 62

Recommendations 63

APPENDICES

Appendix A Monitoring Sheet 1

Appendix B Curriculum Vitae 2

Appendix C Letters 5

Appendix D Research Instrument and Sample Response 6

LIST OF FIGURES PAGE

Figure 1.1 Ages of the Respondents 38

Figure 1.2 Year Level of the Respondents 39

Figure 1.3 Courses of the Respondents 40

Figure 1.4 Respondents’ Frequency of Usage 41

Figure 1.5 Respondents’ Exposure on TikTok 42

Figure 1.6 Respondents’ Consumed COVID-19 Contents 43

LIST OF TABLES PAGE

Table 1 With Whom the Respondents shares COVID-19 Information 44

Table 2 Respondents’ Reason for Skipping COVID-19 Contents 45

Table 3 Respondents’ Reason on why TikTok is Effective for COVID-19 Information Dissem-

ination 47

Table 4 Respondents’ Reason on why TikTok is nott Effective for COVID-19 Information Dis-

semination 48

Table 5 Respondents’ Recommendation in Improving the Contents on COVID-19 50

 Chapter I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

It was discovered in the Philippines that the first case of COVID-19 had been detected in

early January 2020 (Edrada, 2020). “Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease

caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Most people infected with the virus will experience mild to

moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment. However, some will

become seriously ill and require medical attention. Older people and those with underlying

medical conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease, or cancer

are more likely to develop serious illnesses. Anyone can get sick with COVID-19 and become

seriously ill or die at any age” (World Health Organization, 2021). In that same month, the

Philippines decided to ban flights from Wuhan, China, while some tourists were flown back to

Wuhan. The class was suspended in March 2020, and employees were encouraged to work from

home, as well as the start of the quarantine period.

In the time of the pandemic, technology, and communication plays a vital role in the

community. The 21st-century is the time period during which previously unimaginable things
1
became possible. As a result of technological advancement, nearly anything we desire can

become a reality (Marburger, 2011). We also could not communicate with people on the other

side of the world previously, but now we can make video calls and send messages whenever we

want. Numerous social media applications have grown in popularity and are still currently

available. TikTok's tremendous growth began earlier this year. During the quarantine period,

residents sought activities to occupy their time at home. Because it is a pandemic and people are

not permitted to leave their houses, they keep busy by engaging in social media applications such

as TikTok. The application quickly rose to prominence as one of the most popular social media

applications on the planet. This is a space for users to express themselves via short videos or

clips.

According to the most recent statistics from January 2021, there are 689 million active

users worldwide, making TikTok the seventh most popular social media application in the world.

Additionally, from 2020 to the present, TikTok was the most downloaded app. If you look

closely, you will notice that your friends and followers have been sharing their TikTok videos on

their Facebook and Instagram stories or myday. That is how the TikTok app initially captivated

the interest of Facebook and Instagram users. Additionally, watching some of your millennial

friends show via their TikTok videos. This application has a For You feed, which contains

videos from random users and those you follow, browse through the videos that interest you and

leave a comment on the user's video. However, there are instances where you can view clips in

which you have no interest or simply random popular video clips. If you post on the application,
2
you have the potential to gain thousands or even millions of views in a short period of time. This

occurs when your content is entertaining, one-of-a-kind, popular, or exceptional. The TikTok

algorithm is exceptionally sharp and delivers what people want to see. If users like your content,

you can experience strong growth in a short time. Because of this steady growth, content creators

are motivated to create more and more” (Gunel, 2020). On the application, there are numerous

verified accounts that have acquired likes, comments, and shares from their followers. Several of

them are funded by the creator's fund.  That is the platform through which TikTok distributes

funds to members of the creator's fund in other countries; unfortunately, it is still unavailable in

the Philippines.

On TikTok, educators and professionals became content creators to educate the users of

the application, avoid fake news and myths, and bring to knowledge the users of the application.

In the time of pandemic where many people engage themselves in social media, the TikTok

application is living proof that it can be used as a platform for information dissemination during

the pandemic. Aside from the post creation, in TikTok users can also send and chat with the

people they follow through the inbox icon or if the users checked the account of the other user

and clicked on the message button. Users can also engage by commenting on a creator’s video or

live. During the pandemic, people rely on social media for news and updates. The Facebook page

of the World Health Organization that has 1,011,486 likes is active when it comes to information

dissemination about COVID-19. Almost every day they post infographics to educate the

Filipinos about the virus, vaccines, and the daily report for the status in the Philippines. Aside
3
from World Health Organization, the Facebook page of the Department of Health is also a

verified institution to disseminate information on the Fillipinos. The page gained 8.4 million

followers and is also active when it comes to the updates about COVID-19. Aside from DOH’s

Facebook page they also have their TikTok account with username @dohgovph. A verified

TikTok account with 57.4k followers from the application. On TikTok, they post short

entertaining video clips about health that reached a thousand views from the viewers.

The researchers selected this topic to identify TikTok as a form of COVID-19 discussion

platform, particularly among Bicol University students. The application's users must recognize

the relevance of TikTok on COVID-19 information dissemination to avoid misinformation, the

spread of fake news, myths, and to educate the users about COVID-19. The researchers seek to

examine the role of TikTok in information dissemination, determine the COVID-19 contents

they follow and determine the profile and frequency of usage of the application's users, who are

BUCAL students.

Objectives of the study

The purpose of this study is to:

1. Determine the respondents' profiles.

2. Determine the behavior of the respondents in using TikTok application.

4
3. Determine the perception of the respondents on the effectiveness of TikTok in disseminating

information about COVD-19.

Statement of the Problem

This study examined the role of TikTok in the dissemination of information about

COVID-19 and sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of: 

a.Age 

b.Gender 

c. Course and Year 

d. Frequency of usage

e. Exposure to TikTok 

f. Contents about covid 

2. What is the behavior of the respondents in using Tiktok? 

3. What is the perception of the respondents on the effectiveness of TikTok in disseminating in-

formation about the covid-19?

Scope and Delimitation

5
 This study examined TikTok as a COVID-19 discussion platform among the students of

Bicol University College of Arts and Letters. They have been selected that on the assumption of

using the TikTok application, they are the ones who are more likely to use TikTok.

The respondents of this study are the First Year to Fourth Year College of Arts and

Letters enrolled students. We collected data from the students aged 18-24 who use TikTok; such

students were the study's subjects those that do not have a TikTok account, on the other hand, are

excluded from the study.

The study is limited to the current Bicol University College of Arts and Letters freshmen,

sophomores, juniors, and seniors. The students who do not have a TikTok account are excluded

from the study since they have no knowledge about the application and its features.

Significance of the Study

The findings will be extremely beneficial to the following:

TikTok Users. The findings can help TikTok users in determining how to best utilize TikTok as

a platform for COVID-19 information dissemination. They will be educated and will avoid

making false claims and misleading information about the virus. Additionally, they will be

6
instructed on how to use the application with the help of the content creators who are registered

professionals that post videos on the application.

Academe. They will be informed that the application is not only for entertainment purposes but

also as a means of conveying information. They can guide the TikTok users to identify real to

fake news on the videos in the application.

Health agencies. They can use TikTok application to spread information to a wide range of

audiences in a very short period of time by creating engaging and entertaining educational

videos.

Parents. They will be informed that the application is not only for entertainment purposes but

also as a means of conveying information.

Application Developers. This study will assist them in enhancing the application's privacy

settings and features.

Researchers. The results of this study will assist researchers in developing a thorough

understanding and knowledge of TikTok as a platform for disseminating COVID-19 information.

Future researchers. This study will encourage additional researchers to conduct research on

TikTok and will assist them in collecting data for their studies.

7
 Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

8
 This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies on TikTok as a

form of COVID-19 Discussion Platform of the Bicol University College of Arts and Letters

students. This research study cited books, articles, and thesis both local and foreign which

contains facts and information on the research variables. This will also present the synthesis of

the art, theoretical and conceptual framework, and the definition of terms for better

comprehension of the study.

Review of Related Literature

The digital age has been a help for the everyday activities of individuals. Communicating

also was made easier with the access of phones and the use of digital media. Social media is a

collective term for websites and applications that focus on communication, community-based

input, interaction, content-sharing, and collaboration. (Lutkevich & Wigmore, 2021)

Social media has played a large part in the lives of people. It has been used in various

sectors of the community like the health industry. Integrating social media into health

communication campaigns and activities allows health communicators to leverage social

dynamics and networks to encourage participation, conversation and community – all of which

can help spread key messages and influence health decision making. (CDC, 2011)

With the presence of social media, this has been the communications medium. Social

media in communication is a constant topic of discussion. Online communication has brought

information to people and audiences that previously could not be reached. ... Today, businesses

rely on social media to create brand awareness as well as to promote and sell their products.
9
(UCW, 2018) The most commonly used social media platforms today are Instagram, Facebook,

Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. (UoPeople, 2017). People turn to social media as a

form to get information on a certain disease or illness. In a study, 4 primary reasons for health-

related social media use: (1) to gain knowledge about their diagnosed disease; (2) to obtain

advice from other patients with the same disease; (3) to receive social support; and (4) to

communicate with a physician. (Huo, et al., 2019). Communicating using social media became a

medium to help in information dissemination.

The popularity of social media apps bloomed apps like Whatsapp, Telegram, Douyn,

Weibo, etc. An app in 2016, a company called ByteDance created Douyin or TikTok. It hosts a

variety of short-form user videos, from genres like pranks, stunts, tricks, jokes, dance, and

entertainment with durations from 15 seconds to three minutes. (Wikipedia, 2016) With 689

million global active users as of January 2021, TikTok ranks as the 7th most used social network

in the world. Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and WeChat outpace the

app, with more than a billion users in each case. (K., 2021)

TikTok does away with many of the assumptions other social platforms have been built

upon, and which they are in the process of discarding anyway. It questions the primacy of

individual connections and friend networks. It unapologetically embraces central control rather

than pretending it doesn’t have it. TikTok’s real influence going forward may be that the other

social media platforms decide that our friends were simply holding us back. Or, at least, it was

holding them back. (Herrman, 2019) During the start of the year, January. TikTok reached its

10
peak for downloads in Q1 2020, when it was downloaded 315 million times, according to Sensor

Tower. Monthly peak downloads occurred in March 2020 – the first month of widespread

Coronavirus lockdowns. (Geyser, 2021)

The pandemic has pushed people to stay and in their home thus have looked for ways to entertain

them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media use has accelerated to the point of becom-

ing a ubiquitous part of modern healthcare systems. As with any tool in healthcare, its risks and

benefits need to be carefully considered. (Wong, Ho, Olusanya, Antonini, & Lyness, 2020) The

coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected countries all over the world. In the

Philippines, there are 2.84 million cases and 50, 449 deaths (Ritchie, et al., 2021). Given the in-

crease in the number of cases and deaths, the public wants to get the most up-to-date information

as much as possible as it is still new. Social media became the quickest outlet in obtaining and

disseminating information.

         The international community has been faced with a critical health condition that

hasn't been seen and felt in decades, the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The virus isn't the

only one that went viral, the new events have also brought along an "Infodemic" or an epidemic

of false information by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020). The new virus wasn’t the

only thing that has gone viral, but information about the pandemic has been viral also. Not only

do health professionals want to get the latest information about the pandemic but the people are

also in a race to find solutions and information on the newfound virus.

11
ccording to a Journal "TikTok and Its Role in COVID-19 Information Propagation”. They have

analyzed the 100 most popular videos in each of the three largest COVID-19 related categories

on TikTok. As of July 12, 2020, these were videos earmarked with the hashtags “covid-19,”

“covid19,” and “coronavirus,” which have reached 4.4 billion, 33.3 billion, and 93.1 billion

views, respectively, demonstrating the platform’s immense ability to encourage sharing – find-

ings revealed that, on average, 6.33% of videos were filmed by health care professionals, and

2.66% were filmed by young adult patients tracking their recovery journeys. (Chen & Ostrovsky,

2020)

TikTok, like any video or content sharing platform, has a variety of ranges of creators. The pan-

demic had brought the creator in everyone. Health professionals have utilized the use of social

media as a way for people to be informed, one of them is TikTok. The recent use of TikTok by

health professionals to spread messages relating to COVID-19 is one example of how this can be

done with some success. (Santoro, 2021) At this time, every possible means of getting informa-

tion out to the public is used to spread the correct COVID-19 related information and as well as

combat incorrect information lurking on the site. Medical professionals have joined in to debunk

the rumors and provide the facts. Dr. Eric Burnett, a hospitalist at Columbia-Presbyterian and as-

sistant professor in clinical medicine at Columbia University said “Misinformation is literally

landing people in the hospital, literally killing people, so that’s why I do it,” (NYU, 2021)

There are also other organizations that have posted videos on TikTok; however, the WHO has

been noted as the most popular. (Lozan, 2020) The organization is one of the most credible

sources of information that is based on facts and statistics. TikTok just like any other social me-
12
dia during the first start of the pandemic had false news circulating on the application. According

to Ciaran O’Connor, an analyst for the Institute of Strategic Dialogue and lead author of a new

report about misinformation on the app, “People are using TikTok to post and host harmful

Covid misinformation, and its high popularity- This function is being used exactly as TikTok de-

signed it. The audio is being shared and reacted to. But the consequence is that it creates a feed-

back loop of anti-vaccine narratives.” (Zadrozny, 2021) False news can cause confusion and af-

fect the future actions and decisions of the individual or the public. Such false news circulating is

saying pierogies help protect you from the virus to more impassioned claims based on erroneous

data, false side effects, and death tolls due to the vaccine — the platform is swimming in vaccine

fears. (Bankert, 2021) The Institute of Strategic Dialogue tracked some misinformation in the

TikTok COVID-19 feature. It has been found that anti-vaccination have gone viral as a kind of

chain message. It also hinders everyone from getting vaccinated. (O’Connor, 2021)

According to the article A COVID-19 'Infodemic'? How to Make Sense of What you’re Reading,

separating fact from fiction is especially difficult when the source is social media. “Everything

looks the same on Twitter,” says Dr. Meyer. “When you have a tweet from Anthony Fauci, MD,

director of the National Association of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, next to a tweet that says

the opposite thing from a celebrity or some random person—and they all appear similar, you

have to weigh the credibility of your sources.” (Katella, 2020)

Not everything published online is true, it is important to fact-check and do background research

on the person posting the information. Checking the credibility of the individual giving out the

information is one of the aspects someone should look into before sharing the same information.
13
The Center for Disease and Control or CDC mentioned that we should fact-check information

that we encounter online. They also gave advice on stopping the spread of rumors by doing three

easy things: find trusted sources of information; share information from trusted sources; and

discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources. (FEMA, 2021)

         In this trying time, people are encouraged to fact-check the information they encounter

and consume to avoid false information being passed around. During its first run on the COVID-

19 dedicated page, the site had numerous false information. But as time has changed and medical

professionals and organizations joined the site, it also changed its community guidelines to limit

the spread of misleading information. According to the a representative from TikTok, “We strive

to promote an authentic TikTok experience by limiting the spread of misleading content, includ-

ing audio, and promoting authoritative information about COVID-19 and vaccines across our

app- misinformation is an industry-wide challenge, and we are grateful for reports that help us

take action on violations.” (Bankert, 2021)

         Based from the statement made by TikTok, they have yet to improve more on guidelines

in minimizing the spread of false information.  Furthermore, we are facilitating ready and easy

access to reliable and trusted information on COVID-19. In February, we introduced an in-app

informational page that provides credible information from the World Health Organization -

pinned at the top of the Discover tab, this feature contains answers to common questions, offers

tips on staying safe, and dispels some of the myths about coronavirus. (TikTok, 2020) Morgan

McSweeney, a PhD scientist who researches treatments for diseases like COVID-19 also is try-

ing to debunk rumors about COVID-19. She said that even the smallest of accounts can create or
14
gain a large following, for her to teach people about the missing important facts of the pandemic.

(Law, 2021)

         There is also plenty of COVID-19 related information that TikTok has partnered with

verified and trusted institutions. Some contents would reach 5.4 billion views. There are also

challenges conducted by organizations like the World Health Organizations. Safe Hands Chal-

lenge, a campaign launched by the WHO to promote hand washing. The hashtag has 5.4 billion

views with participants like Jimmy Fallon, Gloria Gaynor, and Mariah Carey. The application

also launched the #DistanceDance challenge, which encourages people to stay at home and prac-

tice physical distancing to help slow the spread of coronavirus and encourage their friends to do

the same – in a fun and creative way. And also hosted a series of live streams led by the World

Health Organization where experts from WHO shared information on protective measures and

took live questions from our community. (TikTok, COVID-19, 2020)

         These content made and launched by verified and trustworthy organizations, have people

come together and be educated and encourage others to support the same ideology and actions. It

gives confidence that they can overcome the situation. The live streams and challenges also gar-

ners the attention of young generations.

Government units of different countries have made precautions and plays in containment

of the spread of the pathogens in a country. The Philippines's have also done the same: to

mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine national government through its

Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases outlined different quarantine

15
measures wherein each level has a corresponding degree of rigidity from keeping only the

essential businesses open to allowing all establishments to operate at a certain capacity. Other

measures also involve prohibiting individuals at a certain age bracket from going outside of their

homes. (Talabis, et al., 2021)

The government, non governmental agences, and organizations in the Philippines have

run COVID-19 health information campaigns to inform the locals and combat the spred of the

virus. The materials to dissiminate information are mostly in English and Tagalog across the

national domains. Thus far, in the country, we have seen various grassroots efforts, as

exemplified above, rise to the challenge in bridging the information gap. (Researchers, 2021)

The Department of Health, which is the primary head in mitigating COVID-19 in the

country, has released a reporting and information dissemination protocol in response to the

Novel Coronavirus (2019) health event. ‘In order to combat misinformation and allay the fear of

the public-to encourage the public to take actions to prevent the spread of the disease; to inform

stakeholders on the government’s actions to protect the health of the public and concerned

individuals; and to correct misconceptions- a report on the information deissiminatiobn protocol

is laid out and be circularized’ (DOH, 2020)

Information dissemination by health sectors is prominent in the country but not only the

health sectors are helping to help keep the public informed. The Department of Education from

Bicol has also extenede the effort in disseminating information.  DepEd Bicol will be active in

16
advocating information dissemination on COVID-19 Vaccination Program as its commitment to

support the government’s efforts in fighting the disease. (DepEd, 2021)

The Philippines has been vocal about COVID-19 and spreasding information with the use

of hashtags. People are using hashtags to convey actions and updates; hashtags like

#Covid19Quarantine so to give them updates on areas under quarantine; #ReliefPH +

#Covid19PH as about relief operations and donations; #LuzonLockdown for Luzon to give

updates on the enhanced community quarantine for Luzon- as many netizens are keenly

watching out for the work of their respective government units (LGU’s) and many people are

working at home, netizens expressed their appreciations and/or frustrations using hashtags. 

(Lacsa, 2021)

The Department of Health in the Philippines had joined in on the application TikTok to cam-

paign on the prevention of the virus. The video they made was them dancing to the song by “The

Weekend” while tips on how to prevent COVID-19 – the disease caused by 2019-nCoV –

flashed on the screen. And also participated in the #covidancechallenge and encourages people to

do the same. (Cepeda & Cepeda, 2021)

In the time of chaos people have been in-search of information that can help them survive

the pandemic. But, people should also not forget to check the information they get and also

share. By fact-checking, users are one-step closer to ending the COVID-19 virus. TikTok

became a huge help in starting an online discussion in the platform and sharing the knowledge

from verified sources and creators. The application has more to be developed in terms of their

17
guidelines but as we are still fighting in this pandemic, and situations are getting better, users

have a huge duty to be a creator that would help spread the correct information.

Review of Related Studies

The pandemic has brought forth information scarcity, the new virus caused people to find

information that they could use or would guide them in the new situation. Information was

everywhere about the pandemic, different platforms were all in work to help spread information

about the virus and how to protect oneself from the virus. Even platforms for entertainment have

joined in on disseminating COVID-19 information like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

Social media long before the pandemic or the virus existed, it has been a medium for the

government and non-governmental agencies to disseminate information. The study Government

Social Media in Indonesia: Just another Information Dissemination Tool by analyze four types of

government-citizens’ conversations on social media: daily communication, campaign

communication, crisis, and emergency communication between two government media industry.

Their study had found that a two-way communication happened in a limited way, which was

mainly in the daily conversation. The policy based agency used social media as a channel to

disseminate information, thus they had a low number of interactions. Although the agency allows

comments from every follower on Facebook page, there was no interaction between the agency

and the public. (Idris I. , 2018)

To communicate effectively on the digital platform, social media managers and content

managers take care of the materials that people would consume. A study about Social Media
18
Content: A Management Framework by (Confetto & Siano, 2018) their study or paper

introduced a model for social media content management that is focused on both the strategic

and operational levels to guide companies in setting, formulating and spreading social media

marketing content and monitoring the achieved results. The study for their model concluded that

the logical sequence of strategic and operational decisions and activities that characterize the

SMCM model, and the identification of the three main phases in which it is articulated, is the

first attempt at identifying a standard that drives social media content management within

organizations. Therefore, it can represent a benchmark for digital communication managers and

consultants. It showed how a model can help achieve the results of having to be strategic and

also get the point across that grabs the attention of the target audience.

Content is one of the factors that grabs the people attention to keep them informed and

entertained at the same time. Words, play a large part or make up the content itself. On a study

about Media’s Effects on People’s Perceptions and Intentions in Post-Disaster Recovery – a Case

Study of the Great East Japan Earthquake by (Cheng, Mimoto, Otsuka, & Jeon, 2015) their

study focused ont the phenonmenon that happened, the Japan Eathquake which is an has caused

a stir with communication that affected the people using social media. Their study has found out

that First, the use of mass media has a dominating effect of a person’s perception of the disaster,

but to a certain extent, its effects can be regulated by social media. Second, among different

perceptions of the disaster, the perception of bonds in society appears to be the most influential

on people’s intention of altruistic actions, civic communications, and preparation for future

disasters. Third, media has a stronger influence on those who were not affected the disaster
19
directly than those who were. Their study has prved that social media or the information that

they get from social media can change the perception anf opinions of people.

The new scenario that the world has experienced, people ways to discover what works

and what doesn’t to fight the pandemic and others believing information about the pandemic

being a hoax. During the start or the peak month of the pandemic, misleading information was on

the rise as it competed with the factual information. A study made by (Southwick, L., et al.,

2021) proved that the starting month of the pandemic had a high percentage of misleading

information. They pointed out January had the highest proportion of misleading, incorrect, or

incomplete information about COVID-19- it had 32% out of the 750 videos they have analyzed

that link to COVID-19. The misleading information they have analyzed is information that

centers on how the virus spreads and prevention against the virus. The second observation they

had was that there were only 17% of the videos that are “intended to inform” information about

the virus, the contents of the 17% were about global infection rates and real time statistics about

the situation of the world. They also mentioned that gradually during the first six months, there

has been an increase in the trend of healthcare workers that utilized TikTok for health awareness

and communication campaigns. They also found out from their study that during the first start of

the month of the pandemic the hashtags used in the content of the video changed. They found out

that January’s hashtags focused more on habits and lifestyle modification. The hashtags during

the start of the month are #Wuhan, #Asian, #Health, and #Staysafe. The videos or the content

captured how the users cope with the “new normal” which include wearing a mask, shortage of

supply, social distancing measures, closing of schools, and remote work and learning. Then as
20
people have been more informed about COVID-19 that also includes safety tips, the hashtags

gradually changed to a focus on daily life amidst the pandemic. The hashtags during March

shifted to life style that includes #college, #edutok, #playwithlife, and #coronatime.

The study made by (Southwick, L., et al., 2021) showed how topics of or contents on

TikTok gradually changed as people started to adjust to the new situation. They also pointed out

the false information that circulated when the pandemic first hit. The COVID-19 pandemic had

people looking for information and that the social media platform was a huge help for them to

get information. False information can’t be avoided since everything was still quite new to

people, and they have still yet to unravel the truths of the pandemic. It was a battle of

information both from the health sectors and from the people. The COVID-19 pandemic has

brought people together to fight one common enemy. Everyone made sure that people would

stay safe and healthy during the tough times of the virus. People handed out information by word

of mouth, by televised ads and news reports, and on social media to try to inform and educate

people. The government has taken charge of many media outlets when it comes to information

dissemination. With the engagement of citizens in different social media platforms has enabled

government agencies in the public health sector to speed up and improve health information

dissemination. Social media platforms such as TikTok became a valuable tool for government

agencies to communicate and understand the concerns and priorities of the citizens.

Based on the study conducted by (Chen, Min, Zhang, Ma, & Evans, 2021) found out that

video length, title, dialogic loop, and content type significantly influenced the level of citizen

21
engagement. As per their study, the type of content being uploaded also affect the level of

engagement of people in the post. Video length in particular affects the engagement of people,

based on the comment and like their study found out. And for the videos, their study found out

that most of the videos are related to guidance, patients, and ordinary citizens, followed by the

information about a government’s action towards the pandemic. According to their studies,

guidance for clinicians, patients, and ordinary citizens topped the type of content the viewers

would get involved with a percentage of 43.3%. The next content that got people engaged or

make people engage in a content if it concerns the government’s way of handling the pandemic,

this gathered a 28.2% vote. And the following are for the latest news for COVID-19 and

appreciation for the frontlines. The pandemic brought along the growth of citizen engagement

with the social media platforms which enabled the health officials to utilize the platforms for fast

and easy information dissemination. Their study showed how content can be the game changer

for the audience to participate. Various aspects affect the involvement of a person in the content.

They suggested that content creators specially the health content creators should maintain and

enhance the citizen engagement to their content. (Chen, Min, Zhang, Ma, & Evans, 2021)The

study also has proved that for a content to have engagements from the people, it should focus on

the factors like video length, type of content, and dialogic loop or the number of shares the

content had. The more engagement a content would have, the greater the information

dissemination. All government agencies, especially in the health sectors are all kept into just

providing statistics and facts about the pandemic or the virus. As suggested by the study,

22
government agencies should also focus on the content of the videos and ways to gather the

attention of media or TikTok users.

According to the study of (Basch, Mohlman, Fera, Pellicane, , & Basch, 2021) they have

also seen how social media became a very useful tool by the health and government officials to

disseminate information to the public, efficiently and effectively, since most of users are

subjected to be staying at home. After 100 videos which has the #Coronavirus, 14.55% of the

people in his study frequently viewed content that focuses on anxiety and 10.3% of those are

from the content that focuses on quarantine. And, the rest or 10% of the videos have the topics

about the virus; how it is being transmitted, symptoms, and prevention. The study showed the

message of the content that the users of the platform preferred. Anxiety can be explained by the

reason of being restricted to go outside or have gatherings. Topics about quarantine are a hit to

the users as they all would share what activities they should do, tips, and even the feeling of

being quarantined. Only a few percentages would be interested in the topic of information on

COVID-19. They also made mention of the potential of TikTok in conveying important health-

related information but also to address these aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well. TikTok

plays a huge part in fighting the pandemic. Having a platform that helps deliver readily

accessible information at the convenience of the users can help in controlling the number of

cases and death tolls because of the pandemic.

Based on the study conducted by (Basch, Hillyer, & Jaime, COVID-19 on TikTok:

harnessing an emerging social media platform to convey important public health messages.

23
2020) misinformation and disinformation was also prominent on different social media outlets,

such as TikTok. And such platforms have reduced or limited the false information but there is

still some COVID-19 related information that persists online. Their study focused on the content

that centered on the COVID-19 vaccination. During the time of their study, they have garnered

38 false or anti-COVID vaccination which is a little higher than the videos encouraging to be

vaccinated. The false information that stirred up would undermine the efforts of health and

government officials to ensure widespread uptake of the various COVID-19 vaccines, especially

the younger generations which have the most active users on the site. The false news hinders the

agenda of the health organizations, to have the citizens fully vaccinated. This also promotes the

spread of the virus, and the rise in the number of COVID-19 related cases. False news that is

circulating online diminishes the goal of society; to eradicate the virus and to be mask free. This

false news can ruin someone’s life. Social media plays a large part in disseminating information.

Content about COVID-29 varies depending on the organization or person. But most content are

made with videos to demonstrate the information as well as to get the attention of the consumers

of the content. Tons of video sharing platforms have been utilized for the COVID-19 information

dissemination such as social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, and the famous TikTok.

Health organizations, Government, and ordinary citizens saw this as a way to help spread

information faster. In October of 2021, TikTok and other video-sharing platforms like YouTube

and Facebook watched garnered 1.25 billion and 690 million monthly active users respectively.

Information that people get from video- sharing platforms has stirred up their emotions during

the difficult time. Latest news they get from social media have them feeling scared and uncertain

24
about going out and socializing because of information that's factual and some are just misguided

conceptions. This communicated information is a factor on how they would feel and the actions

that they would do later on after consuming the content.

A study made by (Li, Guan, Hammond, & Berrey, 2021) focused on analyzing

communication of COVID-19 information on the video-sharing platform as well as the type of

content, TikTok by official accounts featured in the COVID-19 information hub or dedicated

page. They have found out that audiences or the users are more likely to engage in videos

mentioning risk information of COVID-19 and response efficiency of precautions as the

information helps decrease the uncertainty and increase their confidence. The content they have

consumed or watched has either boosted their confidence to or to let their spirits down. The

results of their study can be concluded that, individuals would engage in a content if it concerns

something that they should take precautionary actions and as well as information that would

show real-time results of the pandemic. COVID-19 is still very new and the dangers of it during

the start of the chaos were still unknown, naturally what people are interested in are the dangers

of the pandemic and information that would show that it would be extremely life threatening. In

the conclusion they also made shows that a user’s feelings would also depend on the type of

content they are seeing. They could feel confidence if content is more on the positive note or it

did not pose a threat or they could feel anxiety if the content they would see are life-threatening

to them and what the others that have caught the virus. They made suggestions to public health

agencies to be aware of the opportunity of TikTok in health communication and create a much

more audience-centered risk communication to engage and educate the members of the social
25
media community. And also made suggestions like incorporating TikTok dances to demonstrate

and ultimately promote health information as based from the results have garnered more

attention. Public health officials are suggested to incorporate a much more effective way of

combining popular content with reliable health information. In that way, this can help spread the

right information and be consumed. Since most of the users on the site are younger generations,

having creative and strategic content would help them be informed and not waiver and give into

false information.

A study made by (Tan, Pua, Wong, & Yap, 2021) focused on the quality of the COVID-

19 videos being shared and uploaded on different social media sites such as TikTok. Their study

mainly focuses on videos about the vaccination or the vaccine for COVID-19. Their study found

out that TikTok had the highest median of understandability when it comes to the content

compared to YouTube and Facebook Watch. But the app fell behind the two media giants in

terms of reliability, actionability, and comprehensiveness. TikTok being a 1 minute video

sharing platform makes information being tightened down or narrowed down for such a short

amount of time. The time that is being used in the app, makes the creator think of how they can

narrow down the information while still being informative. COVID-19 content creators have the

challenge of crunching down the most vital information they need or the information that they

intend for the audience to know.

The study of (Tan, Pua, Wong, & Yap, 2021) concluded that overall quality of videos

from the video-sharing platforms was low, but still provided accurate information on COVID-19

26
topics like vaccines. They also pointed out that despite having accurate information in almost all

of the videos they have analyzed are still not comprehensive. They recommended that viewers

should still watch several videos of a certain topic to better understand and make better-informed

decisions. Before sharing and believing video information from video-sharing platforms, it is

important to fact-check all the information. They have advised us to watch other video sources

before sharing the information. Watching alone other videos are not sufficient, reading articles

published on government health sites and as well as credible people to talk about the topic. Fact-

checking information minimizes the spread of false information.

According to a study conducted by (Ahmad & Murad, 2020) that the infobox has caused

the public to have fear and panic related to COVID-19. The recent infodemic also based on their

findings has caused anxiety. The public felt panic and fear based on the information they got

from social media. Social Media has indeed contributed to spreading information faster but it has

also contributed to the number of false information on the pandemic or the COVID-19 virus.

Their study also conducted interviews on the views of their respondent on the role and the effect

of social media on information about COVID-19. An interviewee named Victor said that the

digital age people get enough information and facts surrounding COVID-19 online, which is why

they would rely on Social Media for it. He also pointed out that information like photos and

videos are sometimes inaccurate. And also countries like India have spoken with Facebook,

Instagram, TikTok and the likes to help in restricting the guidelines when it comes to news and

information that concerns COVID-19. The platform not only contributed to having discussion

about COVID-19 information but also an exchange in false information, which is critical in
27
stirring up the people. Their study also found out that platforms like TikTok were among the

lowest in terms of using the application for news and information. The researchers conducted the

study with Indian audiences and they have pointed at Facebook to be their number one source of

information than TikTok. But they all said that it has still helped in disseminating information.

They suggested that they had stated their suggestion that health professionals and media experts

should work hand in hand. They have stressed that they should work together to ensure that only

well-vetted information is disseminated to the public. Their suggestions are made based on the

results that they have gotten. One of the results are the false information that is being passed

around and people have the tendency to believe such information and not-fact check it.

They also pointed out that the government officials in the health and education sector

should prepare for future events that are similar to the COVID-19 situation and better prepare for

the next epidemic. It would serve as a lesson for communication or media professionals and

health professionals to work hand-in-hand to minimize or diminish the spread of false

information. And, it can also stop the spread of fear and anxiety towards misleading information.

Social media has become the staple of people in getting information, and with the situation that

the world is in with the Coronavirus or COVID-19, video-sharing platforms are the go-to source

of individuals on health information. Social media plays a large role in communicating the

information about COVID-19. In this time, fact-checking is a must and should be practiced.

The social media application TikTok has helped individuals obtain information anytime

and anywhere they are. The infodemic had made use of social media as a platform for

28
information dissemination. The application TikTok has even made a dedicated for COVID-19 as

a way for them to highlight the importance and urgency of the situation. This had government,

health officials, and even plain users to create and share their COVID-19 know-how and real-

time events. Some of the verified COVID-19 creators are from the World Health Organization,

Department of Health, Red Cross, United Nations, and many more who publish factual and

verified information on the platform. There are also plain users who make contents about

COVID-19 but almost all of the contents are based on assumptions, web research, and personal

experience which have no other scientific relations to COVID-19.

But on a study of (Sidorenko-Bautista, De la Casa, & De Julián, 2020) highlighted that

most of the videos they have observed are factual and verified information and these came from

content creators that are in the government-health sector and health professionals such as WHO

and the likes. But they have observed that in the dedicated page of COVID-19 on TikTok, media

networks and journalist were absent in that informative section where information directly comes

from health organizations and NGOs. Verified content creators, such as those who have a

verified check mark on their page that is given to a content creator, also garnered the most

number of views, comments, and likes. This signifies the trust and confidence of people in

believing the information published. With this it promotes spreading and sharing factual

information from credible sources.

They have also noticed that media outlets and the likes do not participate in challenges related to

COVID-19 but they would include their coronavirus content through trends or hashtags like

29
#covid19, #coronavirus, #lockdown, #isolation, or #pandemic. The researchers mentioned that

the lack of engagement in challenges would explain why some verified social media accounts for

COVID-19 has not gained enough visibility in the COVID-19 dedicated page or section.

For better absorption of COVID-19 information, participating in viral type of content and

incorporating the facts are what is being recommended. By combining both would result for

people to be more engaged and be informed with correct information.

Synthesis of the Art

Last January 2020, the world was shocked with a pandemic that no one saw it coming.

Every country was not prepared of it medically and communication wise. It was the time also of

the “infodemic” where based from (WHO, 2020) a time where an epidemic of false information

circulated also social media platforms. Social media became the tool that helped countries all

over the world disseminate information.

Theses information or content on the platform like TikTok changed people on how they

behave and their perception. A study by (Cheng, Mimoto, Otsuka, & Jeon, 2015) proved that

when people are faced with sudden incidents, people look up to social media sites to get

information that would alter their preceptions and beliefs.

Previous studies stated about the role of social media in information dissemination of

the COVID-19 virus has been prominent in various countries. Applications like TikTok became

a platform for the spread of information to combat the virus and get status on the updates about

30
COVID-19 was used by various researchers. Based from the related materials found no study has

found that study on the same topic, many have studied about the content of the videos posted on

the application TikTok, the misinformation on the website, and the mitigation plans of the

government and non-governmental agencies.

Gap Bridged of the Study

Previous studies have not highlighted the content and discussion going on in the

application of TikTok as a response to the COVID 19. Past studies have not focused on the

respondents' demographic profile; the COVID-19 related contents that are consumed by users;

the role of TikTok in information dissemination, this is the study would like to bridge.

Theoretical Framework

The study titled TikTok as a form of COVID-19 Discussion Platform of the Bicol

University College of Arts and Letters students is anchored on the Priming Theory. The theory

states that the media has the ability to control the interpretation of new information by feeding

the public prior information within the audience members, which can ultimately affect their

judgments.

People are being subjected to the new information that is being fed by the content on the

TikTok COVID-19 page. Content created by credited and non-credited source information,

31
became a vital way for people to cope with the current situation. The new information that

TikTok users consume will affect the future judgements they are going to make. It also becomes

a frame for the actions they are going to take after consummating the information that they got.

That information can then be passed along to other individuals that then consumes the

content that will become part of their life, with uncertainty if the information that they got is

legitimate. TikTok is a medium that’s being used to give out this new information to the

unconscious public.

Figure 1. Priming Theory

32
Conceptual Framework

The researchers stated that the study anchored on the Priming Theory. The researchers

focused on the application TikTok as a form of platform discussion for COVID-19. It also

focused on the students of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters.

Starting from 2017, TikTok slowly grew its popularity as a video-sharing platform. But

in the start of 2020, it gained its peak, being the most downloaded application during the 2020. It

was also the start of the pandemic, which is one the reasons for the popularity of the app. And in

this time of the COVID-19, the application as well as other social media platforms have been

utilized for COVID-19 information dissemination. In the first month of the pandemic, the world

also experienced the “infodemic”, a term coined by the World Health Organization (WHO,

2020). Everyone discussed, created content and shared to social media information that may or

may not be real.

The study is based on the Priming theory, the researchers applied this to the study. The

start of the pandemic people are scramming to get information about COVID-19 and that the

study, the information that they would get or consume would affect their judgments. As stated by

the priming theory, the media has the ability to control the interpretation of new COVID-19

information by feeding the public prior information about the pandemic within the audience

members or the users of the application, which can ultimately affect their judgments. The study
33
also applied the Hypodermic needle theory, where the researchers have linked the role of media

and the information being displayed goes straight into the minds of the viewers or the consumers

of the content.

The theory is linked to the study in such a way the information about the COVID-19

pandemic is being injected straight into the minds of the users of the application. It would

determine the information or content that the users of the application consume and users sharing

the information or performing information dissemination. The aim of this study is to see how

users of the application TikTok utilize the app for discussion and the content about COVID-19

that they consume and share to people. The study would see how the application plays a part in

COVID-19 information dissemination and a way for people to engage in the content about the

virus

34
 Figure 2. Conceptual Framework

Definition of Terms

For a better understanding of the study, the following terms are defined in the context of this

research.

Content. A video clip posted by the TikTok user on the application with an engaging topic,

style, theme, and music.

Consumed. Content people watch that may be a video, photo or flyers.

35
Covid-19 (Coronavirus disease). A transmitted virus originated from Wuhan, China that

infected the Filipinos in the early year of 2020.  

Platform. A place or medium where people can share their comments and express their selves.

TikTok. A video-sharing platform that became popular during the quarantine period.

Users. People that registered an account use the TikTok app to view and post content.

Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

                   This chapter presents the research design and method used in this study. This also

stipulates the data collection, source of data, research instrument, and data gathering procedure. 

Research Design

36
 The quantitative method was used in the study titled "TikTok as a Form of COVID-19

Discussion Platform." The researchers used this method to ensure that the findings were valid

and reliable, allowing for a thorough examination of TikTok's role in information dissemination

during COVID-19. The researchers used the descriptive method to describe how TikTok can be a

platform discussion for COVID-19.

Sources of Data

The researchers gathered data of the population of the respondents from the Registrar’s

Office of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters. The study had two sources: the primary

source of data, which came from responses of the respondents from the questionnaire, and the

secondary data, which came from books, journals, and articles derived from the internet for some

related literature and studies. The researchers collect data regardless of race, gender, or religion.

Respondents of the Study

The respondents of the study were the enrolled students of Bicol University College of

Arts and Letters. There are a total of thousand eight hundred thirty-five (1835) enrolled students.

The researchers get the 10% of the population targeting one hundred eighty (180) students with

45 students per year. There is 5 target excess on the 10% of the population since the respondents

of the study are limited and the researchers choose the students that use TikTok. The respondents

were chosen since they were suggested by their block presidents that they used the TikTok

application, and they answered the form.

Research Instrument
37
 Part 1 of the questionnaire was used as the research instrument in this study. The

questionnaire is divided into four segments that are intended to address the study's dilemmas.

Part I includes information about the respondents, who are college students at Bicol University.

This data provides their names, genders, ages, colleges, and year levels.

Part 2 is about COVID-19-related content, wherein we assess users' frequency of usage,

the type of content they watch, and their level of understanding about COVID-19.

Part 3 describes the role of TikTok in disseminating information concerning COVID-19.

The researchers want to assess the information literacy in this section and also have highlighted

the respondents' perspectives, comments, and recommendations on the application.

Sampling Procedure

For the sampling procedure, the researchers used purposive sampling wherein the

researchers are chosen since they are using the TikTok application or registered an account. In

this research, the block presidents gave 5-6 names of their classmates that use TikTok and the

researchers gave them the link to access the Google form format.

Data Gathering Procedure

38
 The study "TikTok as a form of COVID-19 Discussion Platform for College Students at

Bicol University" sought to determine the role of TikTok in COVID-19 information

dissemination.

The researchers created a survey questionnaire for Bicol University students. The initial

survey assessed the number of students that used TikTok. The researchers collaborated with

various college based organizations to secure the needed data. After gathering all the data, the

researchers analyzed, and interpreted the information derived from the respondents.

Statistical Treatment

The data gathered through the survey are tabulated and interpreted with statistical

treatment. The statistical treatment used in this study is a percentage. It is used to determine the

number of respondents. The formula used is given below:

n=N/1+Ne² 

Where:

n=sample size

N=population size

1=constant

E=desired margin of error

39
 Chapter IV

TikTok as a Form of COVID-19 Discussion Platform of Student from Bicol University Col-

lege of Arts and Letters

This chapter presents the results and discussion, interpretation, and implication of the

study. The main goal of this study is to understand how TikTok became a platform on COVID-

19 information dissemination among Bicol University College of Arts and Letters students.

The results of the current study were presented based on the SOP: (1) What is the demo-

graphic profile of the respondents in terms of age, year level, course, frequency of usage, expo-

sure to TikTok, and consumed COVID-19 contents? (2) What is the behaviour of the respon-

dents in using TikTok? (3)What is the perception of the respondents on the effectiveness of Tik-

Tok in disseminating information about the COVID-19? (4) What are the recommendations of

the respondents in improving the contents on COVID-19?

Demographic Profile of the Respondents

40
 Fig-

ure 1.1 Ages of the Respondents

As shown in the figure 1, most of the respondents are at the age of nineteen (19). Out of

one hundred and eighty (180) , three (3) respondents or 1.7% are at the age of seventeen (17),

thirty-eight (38) respondents or 21.1% are at the age of eighteen (18), forty-five (45) respondents

or 25% are at the age of 19, thirty-five (35) respondents or 19.4% are at the age of twenty (20),

thirty-one (31) respondents or 17.2% are at the age of twenty-one (21), twenty-six (26) respon-

dents or 14.4% are at the age of twenty-two (22),and only two (2) respondents or 1.1%  are at the

age range of twenty-three (23). This suggests that respondents who are 19 years old appear to be

more active in using the TikTok application.

The result of this study corroborate the findings from Statista Research Department

where young adults ages 18-24 have the highest percentage when it comes to social media use

(Statista Research Department, 2021). As it can be seen from figure 1, most of the respondents of

the study are young adults. This could be because social media became really popular among

41
teens and young adults, and it is easier to access social media through cell phone devices which

most of them has. This indicates that the chosen respondents of this study are highly engaged in

social media.

Figure 1.2 Year Level

As shown in Figure 1.2, the first to fourth year Bicol University College of Arts and Let-

ters student are of the same frequency of forty-five (45) or twenty-five per cent (25%). This was

due to the fact that the researchers targeted forty-five (45) respondents from each year level to

complete the target sample of one hundred and eighty (180) through using the purposive sam-

pling.

42
 Figure 1.3 Courses of the Respondents

Based on figure 1.3, out of one hundred and eighty (180), majority of the respondents

who completed the questionnaire are from Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a frequency

of forty-two (42) or a percentage of 23.3, followed by Bachelor of Arts in English language with

frequency of thirty-two (32) or 17.8%. Thirty (30) respondents or 17.8% are from Bachelor of

Arts in Journalism, twenty-nine (29) respondents or 16.1% are Broadcasting students, Bachelor

of Performing Arts Theater has also a frequency of twenty-nine (29), and eighteen (18) respon-

dents or 10% are Literature students. As it can be seen in Figure 1.3, Bachelor of Arts in Com-

munication is the dominant course taken by the respondents; it has higher frequency than other

43
courses. This could mean that Communication students are more likely to be engaged on the Tik-

Tok application than the other courses.

Figure 1.4 Respondents’ Frequency of Usage

Based from the figure above, out of one hundred and eighty (180) respondents, the major-

ity with nine-six (96) respondents or a percentage of fifty-three (53%) answered that they use the

TikTok application sometimes, seventy-three (73) respondents or forty-one percent (41%) an-

swered All the Time, and only eleven (11) or six percent (6%) answered rarely. In this case, “All

the time” means frequently  using the application daily and from time to time, “sometimes”

means visiting the application at least twice or thrice a week, and “rarely” means barely using the

application.

44
  Based on the result, only a small portion of the respondents said to rarely use Tiktok, and

the rest of the sample are frequent users of the application. This could be due to the boom of the

application’s popularity during the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus as people were advised to

stay at home (Statista Research Department, 2021). This could also mean that the application be-

came a means to overcome boredom, relieve stress, entertain and as well as acquire information,

including health related information. 

Figure 1.5 Respondents’ Exposure to TikTok

Figure 1.5 shows that seventy-seven(77) respondents or  forty-three percent (43%) of the

respondents consume thirty (30) minutes or less on the application, sixty-six (66) respondents or

thirty-seven percent (37%) consume an hour, twenty-eight (28) respondents or fifteen percent

45
(15%) consume 2-5 hours, and only nine (9) respondents or five percent (5%) consumes six (6)

hours or more. 

This support the findings of Statista Research Department (2021) that the Philippines is

the country with users who spend most time on social media, with three (3) hours and 53 minutes

every day. As shown in the figure above, the frequency of respondents who have consumed little

time on TikTok is higher compared to those who spent hours on the application. This could mean

that the respondents are more likely to use different social media platforms aside from TikTok.

Thus, the result shows that respondents spent a small amount of time on TikTok, this could be

because their time spent are divided on different social media sites. 

Figure 1.6 Respondents’ Consumed COVID-19 Contents

46
 Figure 1.6 shows that the respondents usually watch Health life hacks, updates on

COVID-19, safety protocols, and COVID-19 facts. Based from the figure above, Health life

hacks topped as the most watched type of COVID-19 content, it has the highest frequency  of

sixty-one (61) or 33.9%, followed by updates on COVID-19 with a frequency of thirty-nine (39)

or 21.7%, safety protocols with a frequency of thirty-four (34) or 18.9%, COVID-19 facts with a

frequency of twenty-seven (27) or 15%, and nineteen (19) respondents or 10.5% answered none.

In this case, health life hacks include what foods to eat, drinking enough water, and having

enough sleep. With health life hacks ranked first as the most watched type of content related to

COVID-19 on TikTok, this could mean that due to pandemic the respondents show interest in

health life hacks which gives them an idea how to live healthy to avoid getting infected by

COVID-19virus

Behaviour of the Respondents in using TikTok

With whom the respondents shares COVID-19 information

Rank Group

1 Family

2 Friends

3 Social Media
4 Community

Table 1 With Whom the Respondents shares COVID-19 Information

47
 Table 2.1 shows that the respondents usually share COVID-19 information with their

family, friends, social media, and community. Based on the data above, family topped as the

most dominant answers of the respondents, followed by friends, social media, then community.

This indicates that the respondents does not keep information to themselves and would most

likely share it with their families. This may be because during the COVID-19 outbreak people’s

interaction with others were limited and are mostly at the comfort of their homes with their fami-

lies.

When the respondents were asked if they finished or skipped COVID-19 contents, out of

one hundred and eighty respondents (180), there are one hundred and forty-four (144) respon-

dents who said they finished watching, and there are thirty-six (36) that skipped. This suggest

that majority of the respondents are interested in obtaining COVID-19 information. Those who

said they skipped COVID-19 contents have provided their reasons for doing so.

The researchers only included the dominant answers of the respondents and coded it

based on the idea of their answers.

Respondents Reason for Skipping COVID-19 Contents

Rank Reason

1 Already encountered contents with the same information.

2 It affects them negatively

3 Preferred watching on Television.

4 Long duration of video

48
 5 Not entertaining

Table 2 Respondents’ Reason for Skipping COVID-19 contents

Table 2.2 presents the reason of the respondents for skipping COVID-19 contents on Tik-

Tok. Based on the table, “already encountered contents with the same information”, topped as

the most dominant reason on why the respondents decided to skip COVID-19 related informa-

tion. This could mean that the respondents are more likely to engage in COVID-19 contents only

if the information being presented is new. This indicates that they would rather skipped than

watched repeated information.

The negative effect of COVID-19 contents to the respondents ranked as the second rea-

son why they skipped contents regarding COVID-19 virus, because according to them having to

watched COVID-19 contents causes them to over think, feel stress and fear. This supports the

findings of (Ahmad & Murad, 2020) where the information from social media regarding

COVID-19 caused panic and fear. This indicates that respondents purposely skipped COVID-19

contents to avoid any negative feeling that it caused.

The reason that says the respondents preferred watching COVID-19 content on Televi-

sion ranked third as the reason for skipping contents. This could mean that the respondents does

not trust the application as a source of COVID-19 information, and would rather rely on Televi-

sion.

The long duration of content and contents that were not presented in an entertaining way

are also the reasons that causes the respondents to skip COVID-19 related contents.This support
49
the study of (Chen, Min, Zhang, Ma, & Evans, 2021) that the length and how the information is

presented affects the users’ level of engagement on content. This could mean that the respon-

dents prefer to watch entertaining and short clips than those that last for minutes.

The Perception of the Respondents on the Effectiveness of TikTok in Disseminating Infor-

mation about COVID-19.

Reasons why TikTok is effective in dissemination of information about COVID-19

Rank Reasons

1 Many people consumes a lot of time on TikTok

2 It has variety of credible content creators that post about COVID-19

3 Provide compact information

4 It is accessible
5 People preferred watching more than reading

Table 3 Respondents’ Reason on why TikTok is Effective for COVID-19 information Dis-

semination

50
 When asked why the respondents think the application is effective platform for informa-

tion dissemination, the dominant answers were because many people consumes a lot of time on

TikTok, it has variety of credible content creators, it provides compact information, it is accessi-

ble, and people preferred watching more than reading.

Based on the table above, having many people that consumes a lot of time on TikTok

topped as the most dominant reason on the effectiveness of TikTok in disseminating COVID-19

information. This means that the user of the application plays a huge role for the success of Tik-

Tok application in becoming more than just a social media application that offers entertainment,

but also a source of COVID-19 information. This indicates that due to having a lot of TikTok

users that spends ample time on the application the information could spread faster and reach

more audience.

TikTok has variety of credible content creator ranked second as a reason for the effective-

ness of TikTok application. This could be due the growing population of medical professional

and health-related agencies that spread about relevant COVID-19 information on TikTok.

Provided compact information ranked third on the reason for TikTok’s effectiveness.

This could be due to the fact that TikTok application only allow short video, which enable the

content creator to only include the most important information regarding COVID-19, which

make it easier for the audience to absorb and remember the information.

The reason that ranked fourth is about TikTok being accessible. Most people nowadays

has gadgets, such as cell phone devices, that can install the application and the fact that since the

51
COVID-19 pandemic started people become highly engaged online, studying and working at

home. This could mean that people that has the application installed on their phone can easily ac-

cess the TikTok and as well as the information related to COVID-19.

People preferred watching than reading ranked as the fifth reason on why TikTok is ef-

fective. This indicates watching makes it easier for them to obtained COVID-19 information than

just reading it. This could mean that TikTok being a video sharing platform may be effective

source COVID-19 information.

Reasons why TikTok is not effective in disseminating information about COVID-19

Rank Reason

1 Some contents are misleading

2 Some contents make fun of COVID-19

3 It is mainly an application for entertainment

Table 4 Respondents’ Reason on why TikTok is not effective in Disseminating Information

Table 4 presents the dominant reasons on why TikTok is not effective when comes to dis-

seminating information regarding COVID-19. The reason that says that some contents are mis-

leading topped as the most dominant reason. This could mean that just like other social media

platforms, there are also false information that circulates on TikTok this is due to the fact that

52
anyone can post their own content on the platform. Tiktok only serves as host for contents up-

loaded by its users, this means that the guarantee that all information regarding COVID-19 on

the application are all accurate is not hundred percent, there are instances that a content that con-

tains misleading information can be encountered.

The reason that says some contents on TikTok only make fun of COVID-19

ranked as the second reason on why TikTok is not effective source of information. This could

mean that aside from misleading information, there are also COVID-19 hoax uploaded on the

video sharing application, which could not be avoided because most contents were not filtered.

TikTok’s purpose as an entertainment application ranked third. This could mean that the respon-

dents still regarded TikTok as entertainment application rather than as souce of COVID-19 and

other health related information. This also indicates that people used application mainly to enter-

tain themselves.

Recommendations of the Respondents in Improving the Contents on COVID-19

Rank Recommendation

1 TikTok should filter the information.

2 COVID-19 contents should be on every user’s “for you” page.

3 Allow credible COVID-19 content creators.

4 Add automatic fact-checking

53
 5 Use hashtags about COVID-19
6 Provide verification for legitimate account that post about COVID-19.

Table 5 Respondents Recommendation for the success of TikTok in COVID-19 Informa-

tion Dissemination

When the respondents were asked about what could have done better by TikTok in infor-

mation dissemination about COVID-19, the suggestion that says TikTok should filter the infor-

mation topped as the most recommended. This could mean that respondents would want TikTok

to filter information to avoid or eliminate misleading information on the application for its suc-

cess as source of COVID-19 information.

COVID-19 contents should be on every user’s “for you” page ranked second recom-

mended by the respondents. This could be because when COVID-19 contents were all over ev-

eryone’s “for you” page, it can reach a wide range of audiences which make easier to spread in-

formation. TikTok should allow credible COVID-19 contents creators is also one of the recom-

mendations of the respondents to ensure the success of the application in disseminating COVID-

19 information. Allowing more credible sources of information will increase the affectivity of

TikTok in terms of accuracy of contents and would decrease the inaccurate one. Adding auto-

matic fact-checking ranked as the fourth most recommended by the respondents. An automatic

fact-checking will help in filtering information and will only allow contents that are true and cor-

rect, that way TikTok will be free of false contents. Using hashtag about COVID-19 ranked as

54
the fifth most recommended. This indicates that the respondents think that a hashtag about

COVID-19 could help in reaching more TikTok users and will disseminate information success-

fuly. Lastly, TikTok should provide verification badge for account that upload legitimate

COVID-19 contents ranked. A verification sign could help the respondents identify if the creator

of the post is reliable.

Based on the suggestions of the respondents, there is a need to improve the guidelines of

TikTok when it comes to limiting the misleading information posted on the application that is

usually from unverified sources.

Chapter V

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

         This chapter presents the summary, findings, conclusions, and recommendations derived

from the study.

This study explores the TikTok as a form of COVID-19 platform discussion among the

students of Bicol University College of Arts and Letters. The research identified what content

does the respondents watch on TikTok and the role of TikTok in information dissemination. A

55
survey design method was used to determine the perception and behavior of 180 respondents

from first year to fourth year students from the College of Arts and Letters.

Findings

Based from the data collected, the findings of the study were as follows:

1. Demographic Profile of The BU College of Arts and Letters Students

a) As for the ages of the 180 respondents, mostly fall in the age range of 18-23, with

aged 19 being the most dominant. This demonstrates that students between the

ages of 18 and 23 are more likely to be engaged in the application than students of

other ages. 

b) For the year level, each year has 45 respondents.

c) For the courses, out of 180 respondents, 42 are BA Communication, 32 are BA

English Language, 30 are BA Journalism, 29 are BA Broadcasting, 29 are BA

Performing Arts, and 18 are Bachelor of Arts in Literature.

d) For the frequency of usage on TikTok, 96 respondents would sometimes use the

application, 73 respondents would spent all the time, and 11 would rarely use the

application.

56
 e) For the exposure on TikTok, out of 180, 77 would consumed 30 minute or less, 66

would consumed 1 hour, 28 would consumed 2-5 hours, and 9 would consumed 6

hours.

f) For the consumed COVID-19 contents, respondents would usually consumed

health life hacks contents.

2. Behaviour of the Respondents when Consuming COVID-19 Contents on TikTok

a) In terms of watching contents, most of the respondents would finished the entire

COVID-19 video, while minority would skipped due to repeated information on

the contents.

b) In terms of sharing contents, majority of the respondents would share the informa-

tion regarding COVID-19 with their family.

3. Perception of the Respondents on the Effectiveness of TikTok in Disseminating In-

formation about COVID-19

Most respondents believed that the information about COVID-19 on TikTok was

effective, with majority of them saying it was because of having a lot of people

that spent ample amount time on the application. While the minority felt that Tik-

Tok is not effective due to some contents that are misleading.

4. Recommendations of the Respondents in Improving the Contents on COVID-19

57
 Filtering information was the most dominant recommendation of the respondents,

followed by putting COVID-19 contents on everyone’s “for you page”, allowing

credible content creators, automatic fact-checking, using COVID-19 related hash-

tags, and verification badge for COVID-19 content creators.

Conclusion

Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn.

1. Majority of the respondents were teenagers and young adults who use the application

from time to time and usually watch health life hacks.

2.          Majority of the respondents have interest in obtaining information about COVID-19, while

some skipped COVID-19 contents. Those who skipped have already encountered the same

COVID-19 contents. And most of them would share the information with their family first.

3.          Majority of the respondents believed the effectiveness of the application in disseminating

COVID-19 information due to the huge number of the application’s users.

4. Majority of the respondent’s dominant recommendations that only from credible organi-

zation/agencies are to fill the contents of the for-you-page and expects content to be fact-checked

already.

Recommendation

Based on the findings and conclusions presented, the following recommendations are suggested:

58
1. To encourage younger generations to watch and share the COVID-19 related information

materials, content creators must make the content entertaining appealing to the audience.

2. To improve content creation from the health organizations/sectors and from the govern-

ment. Active publishing of content as well on the application for active engagements.

3. To partner with communication agencies or organizations to make sure the contents are

of standard. It would also help in having a strategic presentation of information and as well as

help fact-check information.

4 For the developers, to issue badges for credible health professionals and agencies that are

eligible to create content about COVID-19.

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66
APPENDICES

1
2
 APPENDIX A: MONITORING SHEET

DATE THESIS PART ACTIVITY

June 2021 CHAPTER 1 Created the parts for chapter 1 following the panelists’
suggestion during proposal defense.
Meeting and planning
● Researched more data to support the first
chapter.
● Building of the statement of the problem and
strengthen the quality of the paper.

July 2021 CHAPTER 2 One of the researchers looked for the related literature
and studies to support and filled in the gaps in previous
studies. The researcher was also main writer on this
part.
July 15, 2021 CHAPTER 3 Had a meeting to plan the procedure for the data
gathering. The researchers followed the suggestion and
did a quantitative method. Drafted the survey
questionnaire.
August 3, 2021 CHAPTER 3 Started to draft the Chapter 3 and finalized the data
gathering procedure. Looked for the block presidents
and creation of questionnaire.
August 15, 2021 CHAPTER 3 Started to send emails and chat messages to block
presidents of the College of Arts and Letters.
September 18, 2021 CHAPTER 4 Sorting the answers of the respondents and started the
chapter 4.
October 2021 CHAPTER 5 Started the creation of Chapter 5.
3
November 2021 CHAPTER 1-5 Sent the final draft for checking of the thesis adviser.
The researchers edited the papers with the comments
and suggestion from the thesis adviser.
December 1 2021 ALL PARTS The researchers created the preliminaries and other
parts to complete the paper and to be submitted for
defense.

Appendix B:

Research Instrument

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

TO THE RESPONDENT:
Social Media has played large part in disseminating information over the past decade.

With the recent global pandemic the world has been finding information from different source,

and the platform TikTok is one of them.

The survey consists of 3 sections. Kindly answer with complete honesty and avoid

leaving any questions unanswered. It will only take approximately 5-10 minutes to answer the

survey. Rest assured that all the information gathered will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Your cooperation is highly appreciated.

4
DATA PRIVACY CONCENT:

In accordance with Republic Act No.10173 otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”,

we regard your privacy with the utmost importance. Rest assured that all information collected

will only be used for intended purpose of this study.

It is acknowledged that by continuing to the next page, you voluntarily participate in the study.

Thank you for your time to answer the questions.

Part 1: Personal Information

Name (optional):
Age:
Year Level and Course Taken:

Frequency of Usage:
o Rarely
o Sometimes
o All the time
Personal Information
Respondents Exposure to TikTok
o 6 hours
o 2-5 hours
o 1 hour

5
 o 30 minutes of less

What type of COVID-19 content do you usually watch?

o None
o Covid-19 Facts
o Safety Protocols
o Updates on COVID-19
o Health Life Hacks

Do you finish the entire video?

o Yes
o No
Behavior of the Respondents in using TikTok
What made you skip or end a COVID-19 related content?

Do you share all the COVID-19 information that you get?

o Yes
o No
With whom do you share the information?
o Friends
o Family
6
 o Social Media
o Community

I. From The
1-5, with 1 being of
Perception thethe
lowest and 5 being
Respondents on the
thehighest, how would
Effectiveness you rate
of TikTok inthe feature in Infor-
Disseminating
terms of Effectivity, Truthfulness, Accuracy, Timely
mation about COVID-19

____________________________________________________________________________

Can you name some instances where the information that you got was false?

How often do you fact check if the information that you got is legitimate?

How do you check if the information from the feature is legitimate or not? What are the signs
you look for?

Do you think that the COVID-19 feature justified the intent or purpose of the entire page/fea-
ture? If No, why?

Do you think TikTok was an efficient and effective platform for the COVID-19 information dis-
semination?  Why?

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In your opinion, what could have done better by TikTok in disseminating information on COVID-
19?

Link for the Questionnaire(Google Form):

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yci5PuHbKZlfA6JaZDk1-rKvO8wV1lqFjanwg9LYdso/edit

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 APPENDIX C

Curriculum Vitae

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Geselle Vergara Barrameda

Address: Zone 1 Cale, Tiwi, Albay

Age: 22 years old

Nationality: Filipino

Civil Status: Single

Father’s Name: Genaro Barrameda

Mother’s Name: Sonia Barrameda

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Tertiary: BICOL UNIVERSITY

College of Arts and Letters

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Legazpi City

2018-Present

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Secondary: Naga National High School

Naga, Tiwi, Albay

2012-2018

Elementary: Cale Elementary School

Cale, Tiwi, Albay

2006-2011

Curriculum Vitae

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Kathleen Mae Macadat

Address: Brgy. 23 Imperial Court Subdivision

Age: 21 years old

Nationality: Filipino

Civil Status: Single

Father’s Name: N/A

Mother’s Name: Bangilin M. Macadat

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Tertiary: BICOL UNIVERSITY

10
 College of Arts and Letters

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Legazpi City

2018-Present

Secondary: Daraga National High School

Daraga, Albay

2012-2018

Elementary: Albay Central School

Old Albay, Albay

2006-2011

Curriculum Vitae

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Via San Buenaventura

Address: Libod, Camalig, Albay

Age: 22 years old

Nationality: Filipino

Civil Status: Single

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Father’s Name: Elvi San Burnaventura

Mother’s Name: Sarah San Buenaventura

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Tertiary: BICOL UNIVERSITY

College of Arts and Letters

Bachelor of Arts in Communication

Legazpi City

2018-Present

Secondary: Marcial O. Rañola Memorial School

Guinobatan, Albay

2012-2018

Elementary: Camalig North Central School

Camalig, Albay

2006-2011

APPENDIX C: LETTER

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13
Appendix C is the letter that was given to the Dean as well as the respondents of the study.

APPENDIX D: SAMPLE RESPONSES

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