The 'OCDivas' of TikTok: a content analysis of the portrayal of obsessive compulsive disorder on TikTok
(2026) PSYK12 20261Department of Psychology
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Sociala medieplattformar, såsom TikTok, är populära bland miljarder användare världen över. Online, videos när man dansar eller sjunger skapas och tittas på men andra typer av videos finns också. Som medicinsk information eller djupt personliga anekdoter om att leva med mental ohälsa. Denna studie hade som syfte att undersöka hur sökordet ‘OCD’ porträtteras på tiktok, ur perspektivet av en ny användare. Efter en sökning på ‘OCD’ i appen, genomfördes en innehållsanalys på 100 videos för att kategorisera vem som skapat videorna, deras avsedda funktion och vilka symptom som beskrevs. Genom analysen identifierades 4 teman: ‘symptoms described’, ‘effects of OCD’, ‘frustrations and invalidation’ och ‘community and support’. Resultaten visar att... (More)
- Sociala medieplattformar, såsom TikTok, är populära bland miljarder användare världen över. Online, videos när man dansar eller sjunger skapas och tittas på men andra typer av videos finns också. Som medicinsk information eller djupt personliga anekdoter om att leva med mental ohälsa. Denna studie hade som syfte att undersöka hur sökordet ‘OCD’ porträtteras på tiktok, ur perspektivet av en ny användare. Efter en sökning på ‘OCD’ i appen, genomfördes en innehållsanalys på 100 videos för att kategorisera vem som skapat videorna, deras avsedda funktion och vilka symptom som beskrevs. Genom analysen identifierades 4 teman: ‘symptoms described’, ‘effects of OCD’, ‘frustrations and invalidation’ och ‘community and support’. Resultaten visar att de flesta videos var skapade av feminint presenterande personer och alla kreatörer klassificerades som under 30 år gamla. Majoriteten av videorna var anekdotiska och var centrerade kring att kämpa med sjukdomen. Många olika symptom beskrevs bland både tankar och beteenden. Kreatörerna fick både ta emot stöd och ge stöd till andra i både deras videos och när de engagerade sig med kommentarerna. Här delades även frustrationer mot sjukdomen och mot andra som inte har den. Slutligen, resultaten av denna studie understryker vikten av att förstå hur mental ohälsa diskuteras och porträtteras online. Speciellt när det blir en plats för att skapa gemenskap och hitta medicinsk information. Porträtteringen av sökordet ‘OCD’ är bred med varierande symptom och sätt som dessa visas. Behovet av vidare studier diskuteras och förslag ges. (Less)
- Abstract
- Social media platforms, such as TikTok, are widely popular with billions of users. Online, videos of people dancing and lip-syncing are being made and watched. But other types of content such as medical information and deeply personal stories of mental health are also being shared. This study aimed to examine how the search term ‘OCD’ is being portrayed on tiktok, from the perspective of a new user. Following a search in the app on ‘OCD’, a content analysis was done on 100 videos to categorise who was creating the videos, the videos intended function, and what symptoms were being described. Through the analysis, 4 themes were identified: ‘symptoms described’, ‘effects of OCD’, ‘frustrations and invalidation’, and ‘community and support’.... (More)
- Social media platforms, such as TikTok, are widely popular with billions of users. Online, videos of people dancing and lip-syncing are being made and watched. But other types of content such as medical information and deeply personal stories of mental health are also being shared. This study aimed to examine how the search term ‘OCD’ is being portrayed on tiktok, from the perspective of a new user. Following a search in the app on ‘OCD’, a content analysis was done on 100 videos to categorise who was creating the videos, the videos intended function, and what symptoms were being described. Through the analysis, 4 themes were identified: ‘symptoms described’, ‘effects of OCD’, ‘frustrations and invalidation’, and ‘community and support’. The results show that most videos were created by female presenting persons and all creators were deemed to be under 30 years old. The majority of videos were anecdotal and centered around struggling with the disorder. A diverse range of symptoms were described among both thoughts and behaviours. Creators were both receiving support and giving others support in both their videos and when engaging with commenters. Here, frustrations towards the disorder and others who did not have the disorder were also being shared. Overall, the results of this study underline the importance of understanding how mental health is being discussed and portrayed online. Especially when it becomes a space to create community and find medical information. The portrayal of the search term ‘OCD’ is broad with varying symptoms and ways of displaying these. The need for further research is discussed and suggested. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9235608
- author
- Mitchell, Emma LU and Östlund, Kajsa LU
- supervisor
-
- Sean Perrin LU
- organization
- course
- PSYK12 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- obsessive compulsive disorder, content analysis, Tiktok, social media, community, tvångssyndrom, innehållsanalys, sociala medier, gemenskap
- language
- English
- id
- 9235608
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-17 09:20:11
- date last changed
- 2026-06-17 09:20:11
@misc{9235608,
abstract = {{Social media platforms, such as TikTok, are widely popular with billions of users. Online, videos of people dancing and lip-syncing are being made and watched. But other types of content such as medical information and deeply personal stories of mental health are also being shared. This study aimed to examine how the search term ‘OCD’ is being portrayed on tiktok, from the perspective of a new user. Following a search in the app on ‘OCD’, a content analysis was done on 100 videos to categorise who was creating the videos, the videos intended function, and what symptoms were being described. Through the analysis, 4 themes were identified: ‘symptoms described’, ‘effects of OCD’, ‘frustrations and invalidation’, and ‘community and support’. The results show that most videos were created by female presenting persons and all creators were deemed to be under 30 years old. The majority of videos were anecdotal and centered around struggling with the disorder. A diverse range of symptoms were described among both thoughts and behaviours. Creators were both receiving support and giving others support in both their videos and when engaging with commenters. Here, frustrations towards the disorder and others who did not have the disorder were also being shared. Overall, the results of this study underline the importance of understanding how mental health is being discussed and portrayed online. Especially when it becomes a space to create community and find medical information. The portrayal of the search term ‘OCD’ is broad with varying symptoms and ways of displaying these. The need for further research is discussed and suggested.}},
author = {{Mitchell, Emma and Östlund, Kajsa}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The 'OCDivas' of TikTok: a content analysis of the portrayal of obsessive compulsive disorder on TikTok}},
year = {{2026}},
}