Survey: Four-in-10 TikTok users would be upset at ban
With TikTok slated to be banned in the United States later this month, millions of users could be changing the ways they browse online for entertainment, inspiration and online shopping.
Last April, President Joe Biden signed legislation that will require TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, a Chinese internet technology company, to sell the app by Jan. 19 as a matter of national security. This Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear from TikTok officials, who hope to convince the court to overturn the looming ban.
According to new survey data from Numerator, 31% of U.S. adult consumers currently use TikTok, making it the fifth-most-popular social media app behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest. TikTok falls in popularity through the generations: 76% of Gen Z uses it, compared to 40% of millennials, 36% of Gen X and 18% of boomers.
Four-in-10 (41%) users say they would be upset if the app winds up being banned. That number increases to 57% of Gen Z users. Should TikTok be banned, consumers plan to shift to Facebook (47%), Instagram (44%) and Youtube (40%).
Numerator’s survey found that TikTok is most utilized for comedy and entertainment (69%), recipes and cooking (53%), life hacks (46%), beauty and fashion (36%) and home improvement/DIY (34%) purposes.
TikTok Shop shoppers are more likely to be low-income, LGBTQ+, Gen Z, and spend an average of $28 on TikTok Shop three times a year. They are four times more likely to shop at Temu, three times more likely to use DoorDash, two-and-a-half times more likely to use UberEats, and twice as likely to shop online at Ulta, Kohl’s and Target.
[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: TikTok spurs lower spending among Gen Z consumers]
Additional survey insights include the following:
- Concerning data privacy, 37% of TikTok users distrust the app and 38% are neutral.
- TikTok users spend more time on their mobile devices, as 41% say they use mobile devices for more than six hours per day, compared to 31% of all consumers.
- Compared to all consumers, TikTok users are 51% more likely to say that social media is the most influential ad touchpoint, and they are nearly twice as likely to follow celebrities and internet personalities and influencers on social media.
