Gen Z Sees TikTok as Its Go-To Social Media

By: M. Scott Morris
Published: July 3rd, 2024

TikTok parent company ByteDance is under pressure to sell off the U.S. division, which means uncertainty hangs over the fifth-most popular social media site.  Numerator's latest article, Tick Tock Goes the Clock: Insights on How a TikTok Ban Would Affect Americans, provides insights into TikTok users, their sentiment around the situation, overall social media habits, and potential apps that could fill the TikTok void. Here's some of what Numerator learned in May by surveying more than 1,300 TikTok users.:

• 31% of U.S. adult consumers currently use TikTok, making it the fifth-most-popular social media app behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest.
• TikTok falls in popularity through the generations: 76% of Gen Z uses it, 40% of Millennials, 36% of Gen X, and 18% of Boomers.
• Compared to all consumers, TikTok users are 51% more likely to say that social media is the most influential ad touchpoint, and they are nearly twice as likely to follow celebrities and internet personalities/influencers on social media.
• TikTok users spend more time on their mobile devices: 41% say they use mobile devices for more than six hours per day, compared to 31% of all consumers.
• TikTok is used for comedy and entertainment (69%), recipes and cooking (53%), life hacks (46%), beauty and fashion (36%), and home improvement/DIY (34%).
• Among TikTok users, 52% are very/extremely familiar with the potential ban (vs. 40% of all consumers), 41% would be somewhat or very upset should the app be banned (vs. 17%), and 44% believe big tech and social media companies need more oversight (vs. 57%).
• 57% of Gen Z TikTok users said they would be upset should the app be banned.
• Concerning data privacy, 37% of TikTok users distrust the app and 38% are neutral. Distrust is highest for X (formerly Twitter) with 45% of X users distrusting the app.
• Should TikTok be banned, consumers plan to shift to Facebook (47%), Instagram (44%), and Youtube (40%).
• TikTok Shop shoppers are more likely to be low-income, LGBTQ+, Gen Zers, and spend an average of $28 on TikTok Shop three times a year. They are four times more likely to shop at Temu, three times more likely to use DoorDash, two and a half times more likely to use UberEats, and two times more likely to shop online at Ulta, Kohl's, and Target.

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