In just a short span of time, TikTok has become one of the most popular platforms for young people. But what sets TikTok users apart from others?
According to a recent Morning Consult study, they tend to be more impulsive and show a constant need for connection with 53% of regular users saying they are impulsive compared to 37% of the general US population.
Intensive TikTok users are predominantly young, with many such users belonging to Generation Z and millennials. They are also more likely to have children in their household, yet are also more likely to be single. More likely to live in urban areas, frequent TikTok users are also more likely to be renters than homeowners.
These are the findings of Morning Consult’s survey of 37,257 American users on April 3, 2023.
Eighty-two percent of people who use TikTok several times a day say they want to be permanently connected either by phone or internet, 16 percentage points more than the general population. This addiction to screens with their use of other social networks as well.
The most active users on TikTok are also active on Instagram (87% vs. 59% of the general US population), Snapchat (73% vs. 38%) and YouTube (98% vs. 91%). While 74% of the US population claim to use Facebook Messenger, 83% of the Chinese giant’s followers do.
More impulsive than the general population (53% vs. 37%), TikTok users also seek to achieve higher social status (43% vs. 26%), which may be why they are more likely to seek out new trends (53% vs. 31%) and are more likely to try new products (45% vs. 29%).
This constant need to connect and a desire to try out new products is a key factor for brands that seamlessly integrating shopping with social media, and not just on TikTok.
This cohort uses all social media platforms more often than the general population, and is also more likely to make purchases via social media and mobile apps. They are more likely to make purchases via social media, with a 15-percentage-point difference compared to the general adult population in the US, the report points out.