Talking Environment on TikTok: Messages, Social Actors, and Engagement

This study aims to provide an overview of the environmental discourse on TikTok by examining the message characteristics, social actors, and audience engagement with environment-related TikTok videos. We conducted a content analysis of 1515 TikTok posts in English and Spanish and found that: (1) videos about diverse environmental topics like vegan food, waste management, and pollution were more frequently posted and were relatively more engaging than climate change; (2) videos with lip-synced audio and narrative voices over a series of pictures received more engagement than original audio and vlog style videos respectively; (3) environmental messaging was largely ambiguous, but presenting environmental issues in a global context, sharing personal experiences, making emotional appeals, and revealing environmental beliefs explicitly predicted relatively greater engagement; (4) individual creators posted most content and received relatively more engagement than governmental and sustainability organizations. We provide recommendations for scientists and communicators based on these findings.