TikTok has cemented its place as one of the most relevant and fastest growing social media and video streaming apps in the world, but it is also finding its footing as a source of news with all things having been considered and taken into account. Back in 2020, about 22% of US based TikTok user said that they used the app to find news that was relevant to them.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this number has gone up to 33% in 2022. That means that one out of every three TikTok users based in the US are going to the app and relying on it to connect them to news sources, reports Pew. Most social media platforms have seen a decline in the number of users that regularly use them for news, but in spite of the fact that this is the case TikTok seems to be seeing a reverse of this wider trend.
For example, Twitter was used by 59% of its users for regular news updates back in 2020. This number has dropped to 53% in 2022. Facebook’s decline has been even more drastic, going from 54% to 44% in the same two year period. Reddit saw a five point decrease from 42% to 37%, and Snapchat’s share also fell by 4 points from 19% to 15%.
There are only two other platforms that saw any kind of increase in these numbers, namely Instagram and Twitch. However, Instagram only saw a one point increase from 28% to 29%, and Twitch also received a meager two point bump from 11% to 13%.
That suggests that TikTok’s growth is an outlier in a world where people are turning away from social media to get necessary news updates. All other platforms have either seen this type of usership decline, stagnate or grow by very low percentage points. Whether or not this means that TikTok is taking the market share from other platforms remains to be seen, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming years.
Read next: Here’s How Major Tech Corporations Earn Their Money
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that this number has gone up to 33% in 2022. That means that one out of every three TikTok users based in the US are going to the app and relying on it to connect them to news sources, reports Pew. Most social media platforms have seen a decline in the number of users that regularly use them for news, but in spite of the fact that this is the case TikTok seems to be seeing a reverse of this wider trend.
For example, Twitter was used by 59% of its users for regular news updates back in 2020. This number has dropped to 53% in 2022. Facebook’s decline has been even more drastic, going from 54% to 44% in the same two year period. Reddit saw a five point decrease from 42% to 37%, and Snapchat’s share also fell by 4 points from 19% to 15%.
There are only two other platforms that saw any kind of increase in these numbers, namely Instagram and Twitch. However, Instagram only saw a one point increase from 28% to 29%, and Twitch also received a meager two point bump from 11% to 13%.
That suggests that TikTok’s growth is an outlier in a world where people are turning away from social media to get necessary news updates. All other platforms have either seen this type of usership decline, stagnate or grow by very low percentage points. Whether or not this means that TikTok is taking the market share from other platforms remains to be seen, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming years.
Read next: Here’s How Major Tech Corporations Earn Their Money
