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Is TikTok the New Instagram? Analysis of Plastic Surgeons on Social Media

2021; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 147; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/prs.0000000000007873

1529-4242

Vaishali Ravikumar, Kailash Kapadia, Margaret M. Dalena, Haripriya S. Ayyala, Smita R. Ramanadham,

Mobile Health and mHealth Applications

Social media have become an important resource for plastic surgeons and their patients. Patients commonly consult social media before physician visits, and plastic surgeons with greater social media following are displayed higher on Google searches. TikTok is a new, short-form video application that boasts more than 800 million users worldwide, the majority of which are between the ages of 16 and 24 years. The authors aim to examine the use of TikTok among plastic surgeons and compare it to Instagram to guide providers and consumers on how to navigate and engage with the ever-changing visual social media landscape. The term "plastic surgeon" was queried on TikTok. Only accounts of verifiable, U.S.-based, board-certified plastic surgeons were included. Data were collected regarding the surgeon's geographic location, date of first post, number of followers, and number of posts on TikTok. If the surgeon's Instagram account was linked to his or her TikTok profile, it was used to reach their Instagram account. Otherwise, the surgeon's name or TikTok username was searched on Instagram until an account was found. The date of their first Instagram post, number of followers, and number of posts on Instagram were collected and compared to parallel data collected on TikTok. Statistical analysis included t tests with a value of p < 0.05 as the degree of statistical significance. Twenty-three plastic surgery–related hashtags were queried on Instagram and TikTok. The top five posts for each hashtag were analyzed, and data regarding the account owner, post characteristics, and total engagement elicited by each post were gathered (Tables 1 and 2). Posts were categorized as either patient- or surgery-related, personal post, self-promotional, product advertisement, educational, or other. Content of posts that were categorized as "other" included posts containing "viral content" such as discussion of celebrities, funny and engaging posts, and inspirational content. Statistical analysis included Pearson chi-square and t tests with a value of p < 0.05 as the degree of statistical significance. Table 1. - Characteristics of Instagram versus TikTok Posts Instagram (%) TikTok p Patient/surgery related 33 (42.3) 15 (30.6) 0.193601 Self-promotional 20 (25.6) 4 (8.2) 0.016395* Educational 2 (2.6) 14 (28.6) 0.000017* Personal post 12 (15.4) 0 (0) 0.003732* Product advertisement 4 (5.1) 0 (0) 0.109599 Other (funny, viral subject, inspirational) 7 (9.0) 16 (32.7) 0.000674* Total 78 (100) 49 (100) *Statistically significant. Table 2. - List of Plastic Surgery–Related Hashtags Searched on Instagram and TikTok #plasticsurgery #plasticsurgeon #rhinoplasty #liposuction #cosmeticsurgery #bodycontouring #brazilianbuttlift #abdominoplasty #aestheticsurgery #cosmeticsurgeon #mastopexy #buttaugmentation #breastaugmentation #botox #fillers #facelift #tummytuck #nosejob #boobjob #breastlift #breastimplants #aestheticsurgeon #rhytidectomy One hundred eighty-three TikTok accounts were identified. Twenty-two of 183 (12 percent) were board-certified plastic surgeons and met our inclusion criteria. All identified surgeons had an Instagram account. Geographically, 54 percent were from the South, 18 percent were from the Northeast, 9 percent were from the West, and 9 percent were from the Midwest. Eighty-five percent of surgeons were male and 15 percent were female. The average number of followers per time on TikTok and Instagram were 561 and 47, respectively (p = 0.15). On analysis of hashtags, TikTok had a significantly greater mean total engagement per post of 332,220 than Instagram of 806 (p < 0.01). Providers on TikTok had significantly more "humorous" (33 percent versus 9 percent) and "educational" (29 percent versus 3 percent) posts than Instagram (p < 0.01). Instagram had significantly more "self-promotional" (26 percent versus 8 percent) and "personal" (15 percent versus 0 percent) posts than TikTok (p < 0.01). TikTok is a creative way to present plastic surgery video content and has greater mean total engagement than Instagram. In comparison to Instagram, TikTok holds the potential to engage a greater audience and provide educational content to a younger population, which can be a novel addition to the plastic surgeon's social media presence. DISCLOSURE None of the authors has a financial interest in any of the products or devices mentioned in this article. No funding was received for this article.