Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Polarizing Abortion Debate on TikTok

von Reis, Agnes LU (2023) STVK05 20231
Department of Political Science
Abstract
The rise of TikTok as one of the most popular social media platforms has created a new space for political debates, such as the debate surrounding abortion, to grow and evolve. In a politically polarized and divided society such as the United States, the impacts of new social media platforms are relatively unknown. Through an analysis of 40 videos posted to TikTok, this research paper has tracked the changes within the abortion debate that occurred from January 2020 to May 2023. With the creation of ideal types that define the extreme views held by supporters for and against abortion changes within affective polarization as well as political antagonism are analyzed. Contrary to other political debates in the United States the abortion... (More)
The rise of TikTok as one of the most popular social media platforms has created a new space for political debates, such as the debate surrounding abortion, to grow and evolve. In a politically polarized and divided society such as the United States, the impacts of new social media platforms are relatively unknown. Through an analysis of 40 videos posted to TikTok, this research paper has tracked the changes within the abortion debate that occurred from January 2020 to May 2023. With the creation of ideal types that define the extreme views held by supporters for and against abortion changes within affective polarization as well as political antagonism are analyzed. Contrary to other political debates in the United States the abortion debate on TikTok demonstrates a lack of polarization and users' views regarding abortion have stayed consistent over the measured time period. Other patterns regarding the use of religion, gender dynamics, and the use of scientific evidence became evident through the analysis creating a clear view of how the abortion debate has developed on the two opposing sides. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
von Reis, Agnes LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVK05 20231
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
affective polarization, political antagonism, TikTok, abortion
language
English
id
9115571
date added to LUP
2023-08-18 16:26:24
date last changed
2023-08-18 16:26:24
@misc{9115571,
  abstract     = {{The rise of TikTok as one of the most popular social media platforms has created a new space for political debates, such as the debate surrounding abortion, to grow and evolve. In a politically polarized and divided society such as the United States, the impacts of new social media platforms are relatively unknown. Through an analysis of 40 videos posted to TikTok, this research paper has tracked the changes within the abortion debate that occurred from January 2020 to May 2023. With the creation of ideal types that define the extreme views held by supporters for and against abortion changes within affective polarization as well as political antagonism are analyzed. Contrary to other political debates in the United States the abortion debate on TikTok demonstrates a lack of polarization and users' views regarding abortion have stayed consistent over the measured time period. Other patterns regarding the use of religion, gender dynamics, and the use of scientific evidence became evident through the analysis creating a clear view of how the abortion debate has developed on the two opposing sides.}},
  author       = {{von Reis, Agnes}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Polarizing Abortion Debate on TikTok}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}