A construção de sentido sobre informações em circulação no Tiktok: pesquisa com consumidores em São Borja/RS

Abstract

This undergraduate monograph proposes an analysis of how meaning is constructed in information on TikTok, based on an ethnomethodological study conducted with students from the Youth and Adult Education (EJA) program at a school in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul. The research aims to examine how individuals understand the meanings present in verified information and disinformation, offering significant contributions to future studies on the topic. The research question is: How do students from the Youth and Adult Education (EJA) program understand and interpret the information presented on TikTok, particularly in videos that contain disinformation, and how do elements such as images, redundancy, and personal accounts influence their perception of the content's credibility? The research consisted of presenting videos and applying forms containing questions that refer to elements contained in audiovisual content. These methods sought to explore how young people accessing information via TikTok perceive and reflect on journalistic content and videos containing inaccuracies or disinformation circulating on this social media platform. The results indicate that some users of the social network recognize that the videos presented may contain some level of misinformation or even a lack of verification. However, when asked to give their opinion on the use of text, redundancy, image and mobilization techniques, they tend to assimilate opinionated videos (even those with misinformation) as a factual report, capable of being shared among their contacts. Therefore, the presence of redundancy and firm speech is very important, as it leads to confusion and/or persuasion that what is cited is factual. Furthermore, it is shown that viewers place greater trust in content made up mostly of images and personal stories, than in those that mention the steps of how everything happened. Furthermore, how information is structured and presented on digital platforms has a great influence on user perception, especially among young audiences.