Young generation and accessibility to health dissemination

TikTok as a case study

Authors

  • Marianna Lya Zummo University of Palermo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jld.21107

Keywords:

health information dissemination, social network, targeting adolescents, adulting, accessibility

Abstract

Social media interactions represent an accessible way for young people to get health information and provide a form of public discourse about health. It is against this backdrop that experts and other health professionals have turned to digital platforms (e.g., TikTok) to share educational content about timely or touchy topics, and to spread awareness, specifically among younger users.

This paper aims to explore these digital platforms where professionals provide health information that is specifically tailored for a young audience and attempts to explore the discursive negotiation of healthcare and health accessibility in digital social settings. In light of a social media critical discourse perspective, this study explores the creative shifts in the process of accommodating a product to a target audience and questions what meanings, in terms of accessibility and/or discrimination, these products carry for their audience.

Author Biography

  • Marianna Lya Zummo, University of Palermo

    Marianna Lya Zummo is Associate Professor at the University of Palermo. Her interests cover issues in sociolinguistics, genre, communication dynamics and studies on the dimension of modality and evidentiality. Her research is primarily related to issues in health communication in online contexts. Recent publications include: Social Media and Crowd Diagnosis (2022); “Isn’t It so Heartbreaking to See Our Loved Ones Decline Right Before Our Eyes”: Exploring Posts As Illness Stories (2021); “The War is Over”. Militarizing the Language and Framing the Nation in Post-Brexit Discourse (2021); Performing Authenticity on a Digital Political Stage: Politainment as Interactive Practice and (Populist?) Performance (2020); and Seniors’ Social Image: The Representation of Ageing in Electoral Campaigns (2019).

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Published

2022-04-27

How to Cite

Zummo, M. L. (2022). Young generation and accessibility to health dissemination: TikTok as a case study. Journal of Language and Discrimination, 6(1), 93–113. https://doi.org/10.1558/jld.21107