It seems that millennials and Gen Z-errs have spoken their truth, crowning TikTok the second most popular app in the US.
While YouTube holds its own in first place, TikTok has officially pushed Netflix down the ladder.
Few can feign surprise at these findings, which come from Omdia’s newest 2022 consumer survey. In fact, the results have less to do with fleeting popularity and more to do with the way a tech-savvy generation consumes content online.
TikTok Sets the Rules
It’s difficult to deny the global changes TikTok has instigated.
If anything, the numbers speak for themselves.
In 2021, it recorded the fastest growing rate in viewing time, increasing by a whopping 6.4 minutes and reaching a total of 18.1 minutes.
Not to mention, the app itself grew by 56.6% in 2021 due to a huge increase in its monthly active users.
A streaming service like Netflix can hardly compete with the kind of content that TikTok offers – quick formats, content that spans all tastes and topics, a constant inflow of new material and an organic sense of community.
Not to mention, a platform with exceptional advertising potential.
Want to target the youth? TikTok is the way to go.
Social Media Apps Look to TikTok for Answers
Omdia’s senior director Maria Rua Aguete pointed out that time spent viewing video content on social media platforms increased by nine minutes to an average of 60 minutes per day in 2021.
This is something all companies are looking to capitalize on and the influence TikTok has had on other social media networks is more than apparent.
Facebook, in direct competition with TikTok as the leading platform for social media viewing in 2021, rolled out its short video format titled “Reels” earlier this year.
Coincidence?
Most social media apps are trying to get to the bottom of TikTok’s success and implement it as a best practice model themselves.
The Popularity of TikTok Worldwide
It is important to note that this is a distinctive phenomenon only within the “below 35” age group, and specifically in the United States.
Both the UK and France see TikTok in 5th place in this category, with Netflix in 2nd for both countries.
As for the “over 35” group, TikTok takes 6th place in the United States, while it is not even on the list for the UK and France.
Although TikTok has clearly hacked a specific market, perhaps they don’t have it all figured out.
Or maybe not everyone has yet caught up.
