The digital spread of the coronavirus: Measuring engagement of entertainment on the emerging social network TikTok

Abstract

Introduction: The coronavirus pandemic has had a strong impact on social networks, both in its level and manners of use. International health organizations have used all the social networks to ensure that their messages reach all population profiles. Objective: To describe the breadth and dynamics of interactions on the TikTok short video social network during this crisis. This network was selected for its rapid growth during 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, especially among the youth public, factors that have led the World Health Organization, to follow the example of the Red Cross or Unicef, to open an account in this network social during the pandemic. Methodology: 28,234 videos that contained any of the 18 hashtags related to the coronavirus of the selected sample were captured and statistically analyzed. Results: The employment of the selected hashtags grew rapidly and then remained stable around 500 daily mentions. An intense engagement index was detected with an average of 27 thousand interactions with each post. Conclusions: The fast and casual consumption contents that characterize this social network could have served as an escape valve during the confinement.