TikTok user ratio in the U.S. 2022, by age group

TikTok, a social video app launched in 2016 used for sharing and creating video content, continues to grow in popularity. As of 2022, approximately 41 percent of users in the U.S. engaged with the popular social video app. Around seven in 10 respondents aged between 18 and 19 years were using TikTok, while usage among respondents aged between 20 and 29 years was approximately 56 percent.

TikTok global usage

In 2021, TikTok had 1 billion active monthly users worldwide, a growth of 45 percent on the previous year. As of April 2021, the majority of global TikTok users spent less than one hour per week on the platform. Eleven percent of users spent five to ten hours a week on the app, and six percent were using it for ten hours or more per week.

Users' opinion: safety concerns and positive influence

Online TikTok challenges and hoaxes have been a topic of discussion in recent years, with parents raising concerns about safety regarding content posted on the platform. As for U.S. adults’ opinions of TikTok, favorable attitudes towards the platform decrease with age. Overall, as of November 2021, 33 percent of users aged 18 to 34 years had a favorable opinion of the app, but just one in 10 users aged between 45 and 64 years felt the same. Around 20 percent of all adults had a very unfavorable view of TikTok.

Despite the criticism, the platform hosts a large number of positive influencers, focusing on themes such as mental health awareness and body positivity. In 2021, one of the most followed TikTok educators and activists was Nicole Lilly Christou, with her profile @nikkililly reporting approximately 7.7 million followers in the United Kingdom alone.