TikTok’s meteoric rise is undeniable and unprecedented, sparking entirely new trends in content consumption that have spilled over into virtually every other form of media in some way.
And new reports show that TikTok’s influence may extend far beyond entertainment, with younger users in particular now increasingly relying on the app to search and discover and stay in touch with news content.
Which, given TikTok’s long-speculated ties to the Chinese government, could be cause for some concern.
Regarding the search, earlier this week, as part of a panel discussion at Fortune’s “Brainstorm Tech 2022” event, Google Senior Vice President Prabhakar Raghavan noted that younger users now often turn to Instagram and TikTok, rather than Google apps, for discovery purposes.
according to Raghavan:
“In our studies, something like almost 40% of young people, when looking for a place to have lunch, they don’t go to Google Maps or Search, they go to TikTok or Instagram.”
That’s not too surprising, given the ubiquity of these apps and their popularity with younger audiences. But it is interesting to see that TikTok is specifically mentioned as a key platform for search, which is not a usage behavior that most would instinctively attribute to the app.
It’s also worth noting that Instagram launched new business listing tools within its Map element this week, leaning further into this trend.
In terms of news content, Britain’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) released a new report this week showing that TikTok is now the UK’s fastest growing adult news source.
In addition to this, Ofcom’s annual report also showed that for 12-15 year olds, Instagram is now the most popular news platform, closely followed by TikTok and YouTube.
So it’s not just about entertainment, but TikTok is increasingly becoming the app for everything, which, again, makes sense, given the amount of time young people spend scrolling through their ‘For You’ feeds. But it could set off alarm bells among regulatory groups, which are already assessing TikTok’s broader impact.
In fact, earlier this month, an FCC commissioner In the USA asked Apple and Google to ban TikTok from their app storesdue to concerns that the Chinese government may use the app as a surveillance tool.
TikTok was also recently forced to suspend a planned change to your privacy policy in relation to the use of personal data for targeted advertising, amid doubts about whether the change is legal under EU provisions, while a new investigation by australian cybersecurity company Internet 2.0has suggested that TikTok collects “excessive” amounts of user data, which sparked even more scrutiny.
Add to this the fact that China continues to advance its global agenda, despite the objections of other nations, and there is a level of simmering tension that clouds the app’s future growth prospects.
In this context, the fact that more people use TikTok to keep in touch with the latest news seems like a potential concern and could prompt further action to evaluate the platform.
In a more practical sense, right now, these new studies underscore TikTok’s growing importance as a connection tool in a number of ways, which could lead more businesses to focus on the upcoming holiday period. More people are using it to find products, and with that in mind, it should be on your radar as a potential hookup tool for your promotions.
But beyond that, some may be hesitant about building real trust in the app.
TikTok has continued to distance itself from its Chinese parent company and is looking to implement even more measures in this regard.
But if you’ve ever wondered why Meta keeps copying it, along with every other social app, these new reports shed additional light on the ever-expanding TikTok effect.
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