Pew Analysis has shared some new information on TikTok usage in the U.S., and the way Individuals are interacting with the Chinese language-owned app.
Although there are some provisos to contemplate on this dataset. The insights are primarily based on survey responses from 2,745 U.S. grownup TikTok customers, in addition to utilization information from 869 individuals who “volunteered to share their account handle for research purposes”.
Provided that there are greater than 150 million U.S. TikTok users in whole, this can be a tiny fraction of the platform’s viewers (0.0018%), whereas Pew’s sampling methodology additionally goals to signify an expanded breadth of customers from totally different ages and backgrounds. And given TikTok’s recognition amongst youthful customers, that might imply that this information shouldn’t be solely indicative of the behaviors amongst its most energetic cohort.
However as a generalized pattern, this does give some perspective on sure key developments. It simply might not be as indicative for TikTok’s particular person subsets and audiences because it appears.
First off, Pew’s information reveals that the prime 25% of U.S. adults on TikTok produce some 98% of all publicly accessible movies from this group.
That’s not notably uncommon. The highest 20% of X customers additionally produce 100% of its content, and that pattern has truly change into much more pronounced over time, as individuals have moved away from public posting in favor of sharing in additional non-public communities (like message teams). As such, a fraction of every platform’s customers produce the overwhelming majority of content material, although TikTok’s participatory method to developments does appear to lend itself to extra engagement on this respect.
Possibly, on stability, 25% is definitely larger than regular within the fashionable social media panorama.
Pew’s information additionally reveals that round 52% of U.S. adults on TikTok have ever posted a video on the platform, whereas most customers get extra worth out of their “For You” feed, versus their very own following checklist.
“The median U.S. adult user follows 154 other accounts but has just 36 accounts who follow them – and has received no likes from other users.”
That’s indicative of the broader shift that TikTok has led inside social media extra broadly, in shifting away from a extra enclosed, curated following method, and in direction of a broader-reaching, algorithm-defined expertise.
“Some 85% of TikTok users say the content on their “For You” web page is at the very least considerably attention-grabbing, together with 40% who name it both extraordinarily or very attention-grabbing. Solely 14% say it isn’t too or under no circumstances attention-grabbing.”
I don’t know, these are some attention-grabbing insights, I suppose, however the sampling, in TikTok’s case, given the broadly various methods by which totally different teams use the app, appears to make this much less precious as an indicator of key utilization habits.
TikTok, as famous, has over 150 million U.S. customers, and has change into an especially necessary and influential platform amongst youthful cohorts specifically. In that respect, it may be extra attention-grabbing to see a wider-ranging evaluation of how kids are utilizing the app, versus a extra generalized view, which I’m unsure is reflective of its significance.
As a broad-ranging overview, this does present some perception. I’m simply unsure that specializing in all Individuals can be as precious as a extra particular, focused report on kids on this occasion.
You possibly can learn Pew Analysis’s full TikTok utilization report here.
