Misframing Marine Plastic Pollution on TikTok

TikTok has emerged as a significant platform for environmental communication, particularly in ocean protection and waste cleanup. This paper analyzes 250 English-language videos tagged with #plasticpollution and #marineplasticpollution. The videos were retrieved in 2023 by searching hashtags and downloading available videos chronologically from the “Top 100” section. Our analysis includes a descriptive statistical analysis of content framing (cause, issue, solution) derived from marine plastic pollution literature and a 10% video sample, as well as stylistic framing (deficit/dialogue, fearful/hopeful) delineated from established environmental communication models. Our findings suggest a significant disjuncture between experts’ perceptions of marine plastic pollution, obtained through a literature review on the topic, and how the issue is presented on TikTok. Specifically, TikTok individualizes the causes and solutions to the challenge, tends to foreground technological answers, and primarily frames the nature of the issue as solely ecological. This presents a one-sided perspective on this systemic problem and neglects the socio-political injustices tied to plastic pollution. Stylistically, most videos use a data-centered deficit model and a fearful emotional genre, assuming the public needs information due to a knowledge gap while evoking apprehension to drive action. While these models could raise awareness of the issue, they differ from the preferred dialogue and optimistic communication models, which have been linked to greater public engagement based on previous research in the field. Generally, this research finds that the framing of marine plastic pollution in English-language TikTok videos perpetuates one-sided narratives, suggesting flaws in how demographics consuming these videos obtain information about the challenge.

TikTok已成为环境传播（environmental communication）的重要平台，尤其在海洋保护与废弃物清理领域。本研究共分析了250条带有#plasticpollution（塑料污染）与#marineplasticpollution（海洋塑料污染）标签的英语视频。相关视频于2023年通过搜索话题标签，并按时间顺序从"Top 100"板块下载可用视频获取。本研究的分析内容包括两部分：一是基于海洋塑料污染相关文献提炼的内容框架（content framing，包含成因、议题与解决方案三个维度）的描述性统计分析，以及针对10%视频样本的对应分析；二是从成熟环境传播模型中梳理得到的风格框架（stylistic framing）分析，其维度涵盖缺陷模式/对话模式、恐惧导向/希望导向两类。研究结果显示，通过该主题文献综述得出的专家对海洋塑料污染的认知，与TikTok平台上该议题的呈现方式之间存在显著脱节。具体而言，TikTok平台将该挑战的成因与解决方案个体化，倾向于突出技术解决方案，并仅从生态层面界定该议题的本质。这使得该系统性问题的呈现趋于片面，且忽视了与塑料污染相关的社会政治不公。从风格维度来看，多数视频采用以数据为核心的缺陷模式与恐惧型情感叙事，即假设公众因知识缺口而需要相关信息，并通过唤起焦虑情绪来推动行动。尽管此类模式能够提升公众对该议题的认知，但它们与学界偏好的对话式与乐观型传播模式存在差异——根据该领域既往研究，后者更能促进公众参与。总体而言，本研究发现，英语版TikTok视频中对海洋塑料污染的框架呈现延续了片面叙事，这反映出观看此类视频的受众群体获取该挑战相关信息的方式存在缺陷。