TikTok’s popularity among Americans growing faster than any other platform: Pew

The app’s user base has grown by at least 12 percentage points.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Jan. 31, 2024

Story at a glance

33 percent of Americans say they’ve used TikTok, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

That means the number of Americans using the short video-sharing app has grown by at least 12 percentage points since 2021.

Social media platforms like TikTok have come under scrutiny recently, with child advocates and lawmakers saying the sites don’t do enough to protect kids against predators and harmful content.

A third of U.S. adults use the short-video sharing platform TikTok, according to a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday.

Findings of the 5,733-person survey show that YouTube is still the most popular social media platform in the country, with more than 83 percent of adults saying they visited the site.

But the number of TikTok users in the U.S. is growing rapidly, with the site claiming the largest jump in users between 2021 in 2023 compared to any other social media platform, according to the survey.

Pew found the number of adults having used TikTok grew by 12 percentage points between those two years.

The survey also found demographic differences among social media platform users.

Young adults are far more likely to use social media than older adults, particularly Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok.

According to the survey, 62 percent of 18 to 29 say they have used TikTok while 39 percent of 30 to 39-year-olds, 24 percent of 50 to 64-year-olds, and 10 percent of adults 65 and older say the same.

Women use TikTok at higher rates than men. According to the survey, 40 percent of women have used TikTok, compared to 25 percent of men.

And people of color are most likely to log on to the video-sharing app.

Hispanic adults were especially likely to use TikTok, with 49 percent reporting they have used the app, while 39 percent and 29 percent of Black and Asian adults, respectively, said they used the platform, according to the survey.

Meanwhile, 28 percent of white adults said they have used TikTok.

Social media platforms have come under fire in recent years for issues concerning misinformation and data privacy.

The study findings come on the day numerous heads of social media platforms, including TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, testified before the U.S. Senate to discuss social media’s potential harm to children.