EXPLICIT CONTENT ON TIKTOK: IMPLICATIONS TO TEENAGERS BEHAVIOR AS PERCEIVED BY SELECTED MSEUF COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES STUDENTS

This study sought to determine the implications of explicit content on TikTok to teenagers’ behavior. It specifically identified the respondents’ level of exposure on TikTok in terms of number of hours spent in using TikTok and type of content watched, perceived reasons for using TikTok by teenagers and perception on TikTok as a medium in terms of content, popularity and usage, engagement, and influence. It also determined the implications of explicit content on TikTok to teenagers’ behavior in terms of personal and social aspects. The study was quantitatively done through descriptive research design. Survey questionnaires were formulated in the form of Likert scale. The study selected 100 MSEUF College of Arts and Sciences students to gather information on the existing condition. The data were tabulated using the weighted mean formula to draw the findings and conclusions of the study. Results revealed that most of the respondents spent time using TikTok for about 30 minutes to 1 hour and they often watched dance craze challenges with lewd gestures. Mainly, teenagers used TikTok to entertain themselves and pass time. Due to unique features of TikTok, there are TikTok contents that are meaningless but remain popular. In fact, TikTok Star or Influencers are the major indicator in the increasing number of TikTok users especially when they posted video contents that resonate the experience of teenagers which has greater chances to be viral. To be able to reach millions of engagements including likes, comments, and downloads, using hashtags on a certain video increases the interaction among viewers and users. TikTok’s influence is observed when teenagers adopt certain behavior from content on TikTok. Hence, implications of explicit content on TikTok to teenagers’ behavior are usually bad sleeping habits and stereotyped representation of the body