METAPHORS OF LOVE, LOSS, AND LONELINESS IN TIKTOK-ORIENTED TEXTS: A COGNITIVE SEMANTIC ANALYSIS

This pilot study examines how love, loss, and loneliness are conceptualized through metaphorical expressions circulated as suggested TikTok captions. Method: Thirty Indonesian-language paraphrased secondary units, equally allocated to three emotional themes, were examined using Conceptual Metaphor Theory and source–target mapping. Results: Love was modeled through illumination, warmth, narrative, and wholeness; loss through absence, darkness, fragility, and bodily injury; and loneliness through companionship, enclosure, and embodied discomfort. Interpretations are illustrative rather than measurements of platform frequency. Conclusion: The study offers a replicable analytic codebook while distinguishing caption compilations from verified TikTok posts. Original videos, captions, and audiovisual context are needed before making empirical claims about TikTok users.