Extracting Values from Youth-Targeted TikTok: A Large Language Model Comparison
Visiting speaker
Alina Strovolsky-Shitrit
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Tel-Aviv University and Visiting Researcher, Network Science Institute, Northeastern University
Past Talk
Hybrid
Tuesday
Mar 18, 2025
Watch video
2:00 pm
EST
Virtual
177 Huntington Ave.
11th floor
11th floor
Devon House
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
Social media platforms, particularly TikTok, have become dominant channels of value transmission to younger generations, superseding traditional agents like parents, educators, and peers. This research develops computational methods to extract implicit values from TikTok content using state-of-the-art language models. We curated and annotated a dataset of hundreds of TikTok videos according to the Schwartz Theory of Personal Values, providing ground truth for model development and evaluation. Our methodological contribution focuses on comparing two computational pipelines: direct value extraction from video content using Large Language Models (LLMs), and a two-step approach that first converts videos to detailed scripts before applying value detection.
Our experimental results demonstrate that the two-step approach achieves superior performance, with a fine-tuned Masked Language Model significantly outperforming few-shot applications of various LLMs in value detection tasks. We provide detailed analysis of model performance across different value categories and examine how fine-tuning impacts the models' ability to identify both present and contradicted values in TikTok content.
Our findings not only demonstrate the feasibility of automated value detection in social media content but also open new avenues for large-scale TikTok datasets for understanding the role of digital platforms in shaping cultural values and social learning in the digital age.
About the speaker
About the speaker
Dr. Alina Shitrit is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Tel-Aviv University and Visiting Scholar at the Network Science Institute, Northeastern University. With a background in Computer Science and a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, she spent over two decades applying big data analysis in Biotech. Her current research combines computational methods with social science, developing methodologies to analyze value transmission patterns in social media. At NetSI, she extends this work to investigate large-scale networks of value communication among TikTok influencers and their audiences.
Dr. Alina Shitrit is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at Tel-Aviv University and Visiting Scholar at the Network Science Institute, Northeastern University. With a background in Computer Science and a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, she spent over two decades applying big data analysis in Biotech. Her current research combines computational methods with social science, developing methodologies to analyze value transmission patterns in social media. At NetSI, she extends this work to investigate large-scale networks of value communication among TikTok influencers and their audiences.
Want to be notified about upcoming NetSI events? Sign up for our email list below!
Thank you! You have been added to our email list.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form