TikTok is the only social network experiencing significant growth in news consumption. What does this signify for the future of the platform and journalism?

While TikTok initially started as a highly entertaining social media platform, it encompasses much more today. It serves as a source of entertainment and information, but unfortunately, it also spreads misinformation.

A recent study by the Pew Research Center revealed some particularly interesting findings: the number of American adult users consuming news through the platform has more than quadrupled in three years. In 2020, those staying informed via TikTok in the U.S. accounted for 3% of total users; in 2023, the corresponding percentage is 14%.

The global trend indicates a 10-point decline since 2018 in individuals who initially access news through a website or app, with younger demographics showing a preference for obtaining news through social media, search engines, or mobile aggregators.

According to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s annual Digital News Report, audiences now exhibit greater interest in celebrities, influencers, and social media personalities compared to traditional journalists, particularly on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.

TikTok stands out as the fastest-growing social network, with a 20% usage rate for news among 18- to 24-year-olds, marking a five-percentage-point increase from the previous year. Notably, less than half of the survey participants demonstrated significant interest in news, a substantial decrease from the 6 out of 10 observed in 2017.

Young people prefer TikTok

TikTok is a social media platform particularly popular among younger age groups, so it’s logical for the youth to prefer it for their information. In fact, nearly 1 in 3 Americans under 30 regularly get informed through the platform. In 2020, 9% of individuals aged 18-29 chose TikTok for their news consumption. This year, the corresponding percentage has skyrocketed to 32%. For the age group of 30-49, 2% opted for TikTok for news in 2020; this year, the percentage reached 15%. Three years ago, only 1% of users aged 50-64 chose TikTok for their news, while today, the corresponding percentage stands at 7%.

Looking at the overall adults who frequently choose TikTok for their information, the percentage has almost doubled, from 22% of users in 2020 to 43% today. TikTok is the only social network experiencing such a significant increase in news consumption, while this trend is declining in other platforms traditionally associated with journalism.

Platform X (formerly Twitter) remains the ‘king’ of information despite its setbacks during the Elon Musk era. In the United States, 59% of adult users chose to get informed from Twitter in 2020, while today, the corresponding figure has decreased to 53%.

In 2020, 54% of adult users in the United States opted for Facebook for their information, a percentage that has now shrunk by 11 points, reaching 43%. Less popular are social media platforms such as Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram.

The Era of Reels – TikTok

TikTok was the platform that successfully popularized short videos, a trend quickly adopted by other social media platforms. Reels, or vertical short videos, now appear even if we don’t actively search for them on our Facebook feed, especially on Instagram and YouTube, known as ‘Shorts,’ which are essentially brief versions of ‘regular’ YouTube videos. Simultaneously, due to the popularity of free artificial intelligence tools, such as ChatGPT and Bing Chat, it only takes a few minutes to create such a short video.

At the same time, major news outlets may not consider TikTok as their primary means of communication with their audience, but they have dynamically incorporated it into their strategy. They know they can reach an audience that has long abandoned traditional television, so they adjust their content to fit the aesthetic and immediacy of this specific platform.

A short video shot with a mobile device can easily be featured in the news of a major outlet, and politicians, in turn, are becoming familiar with TikTok. The followers of the BBC News account on TikTok increased twentyfold in a span of 9 months.

TikTok seems to be gaining a strong presence in journalism. However, what raises concerns is the fact that on this social media platform – as on most social media – there is a massive circulation of fake news. Therefore, as TikTok becomes more popular as a source of information, measures to protect users against the threat of fake news should increase. Digital tools and filters capable of detecting and limiting fake news should be actively employed.