TikTok Growth Rapid but... US Teens "Watch YouTube More"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] While TikTok is rapidly growing in the social networking service (SNS) market, the usage rate of YouTube among American teenagers remains high at 95%. Over the past seven years, TikTok usage has increased significantly, but Facebook usage has decreased by more than half.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 10th (local time), a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on the social media habits of 1,316 teenagers aged 13 to 17 found that 95% of all respondents reported using YouTube. The next most used application was TikTok.

Regarding usage frequency, 19% of respondents said they use YouTube almost constantly. Following that, TikTok and Snapchat had response rates of 16% and 15%, respectively, to the same question. Recently, TikTok has been rapidly catching up to YouTube in the video platform market, but YouTube still holds the advantage.

The survey results showed differences in SNS usage by gender and race. Teenage girls tend to use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat more, while teenage boys show higher usage rates of YouTube, Reddit, and Twitch. Additionally, 81% of Black teenagers reported primarily using short-form content apps, which feature short videos, while Hispanic teenagers had a higher usage rate of WhatsApp.

A notable point in this survey is the decline in Facebook usage among teenagers. In surveys conducted in 2014 and 2015, 71% of teenagers reported using Facebook, but currently, only 32% access Facebook. However, WP noted that Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, has not yet lost all its users. This is because 62% of teenagers reported accessing Instagram, and 17% reported using WhatsApp.

The Pew Research Center stated, "It is difficult to identify a clear reason why teenagers primarily use certain apps," but interpreted that "most teenagers seem to choose apps based on whether it is easy to find people they want to hang out with."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.