Small Stories with Food Allergies on TikTok: Design Opportunities for Social Technologies Supporting Health

TikTok has become a prominent space for people to speak out about food allergies, a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition that requires constant vigilance. TikTok videos about food allergies were created to share lived experiences, build connection, and raise awareness. Using content analysis through a small stories lens, we examine the messages conveyed in TikTok videos and how they are crafted using platform affordances, such as text overlays and visual storytelling, to express vulnerability, negotiate safety, and call for changes. Our study contributes to HCI by advancing understanding of (1) fragmented, multimodal health storytelling and (2) participatory public health narratives that challenge stigma and advocate for inclusion. We also identify design opportunities to better support expressive, community-driven health storytelling on social media.