A Deep Dive of Unprofessionalism on TikTok

Professional fields are constantly changing and gaining new ways of connecting with consumers on different levels. There are hundreds of ways for professionals to share information and help people outside of office. Recently, some professionals have crossed the line between comedy and distasteful content, as seen by many. TikTok is a video sharing social networking app where people can share short videos that play on a loop varying from 3 to 60 seconds. The app has gained popularity in the past few years and a lot of users now use the app for sketch comedy, story sharing, and lip syncing. Out of billions of users, the target demographic is people under 30. Although there are several adults users, more “TikTokers” are between the ages of 13-18 and more impressionable. There has been a rise in awareness surrounding professionals in different fields using the platform to make fun of their clientele or spread misinformation. A lot of recent attention has specifically been on users that are in the medical field that use the app to post comedic videos. Several different popular users, such as NurseHollyOfficial, have been shamed for their content. “Nurse Holly” posted a short video about STDs that has gained a lot of attention in the past month. In the video, she shares that “the best way to protect yourself from STDs, is waiting for sex until marriage (just the truth).”

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Many users and people were outraged by the post since it is not a medical fact, but an opinion. Her video could cause younger, more impressionable users to feel ashamed for having intercourse before marriage or give them the false idea that if they wait until marriage there is no chance of them contracting an STD. The chances of getting an STD are significantly lower if someone waits until marriage, but it is not impossible. Holly has since deleted the video on her personal account and recently went on a social media break after the backlash. Another popular TikTok user that was shamed for one of her nursing videos is damndrosetiktok, who posted a video depicting a patient breathing heavily and the nurse (Rose) dancing to the breathing and making fun of patient for “overreacting.” The video was captioned “we know when y’all are faking.” The video is still up on her Twitter and people in the responses were very angry. Many shared stories of medical professionals not taking their issues seriously and their medical issue worsening due to negligence.

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Nurses are not the only professionals on the app that make inappropriate videos that depict them in a distasteful way. There are several different clips of teachers, law enforcement, service members, and more using the app to gain popularity. This poses the question: where does the line between being professional and making a joke get crossed? I held a poll on my personal Instagram story where I posted several different TikToks that I have seen deemed as inappropriate by the masses and asked my followers to vote “Is this wrong in some way? Yes or No?” with the option to explain their standpoint. It was interesting to see how differently people viewed them. The majority of my followers voted that the videos were wrong. Most who saw nothing wrong with them did not chose to share why they felt that way but I received a few messages from people who felt passionately about the subject. (All those who participated will be anonymous for privacy reasons). One of the participants messaged me and explained how they were torn about the videos. Why are these people held to different standards than those working in customer service, for example? There are many videos posted by users making fun of people who come into retailers with claims and complaints about store policies, and are rarely shamed for it. Many would argue the reason for this being that professionals, such as nurses, have certain standards they are held to and oaths they must take for their jobs that customer service employees do not have to uphold. The issues they handle are also much more serious and concern medical issues rather than the price of a T-shirt or a coupon issue. The general consensus I gathered from these polls was that although some may find the videos funny, some discussions should not leave immediate friend groups or the break room. Everyone needs to "blow off steam" from time to time, but that is not a reason to shame people on a large platform. These videos could scare young people from going to the doctor or their teacher for help because they are worried they will not be taken seriously or judged. The Internet is far more powerful than many realize and gaining popularity on a video sharing app is not worth the damage those videos may cause. Medical professionals' biggest worries are that people will not seek medical help for serious issues because they are scared of being made fun of due to these videos. There are amazing professionals who care for their clients and patients that take their job very seriously. Many nurses, teachers, and law enforcement seek validation through their superiors for their hard work rather than turning to an app for recognition or attention. Most find happiness in helping their community and change lives every day and a very small portion of that is reflected in social media. Do not be afraid of these professionals just because a handful of people on an app show them in a negative way. Just because someone yells louder, does not mean they are right.

#TikTok #professionalism