(ETX Daily Up) – Often seen as an entertainment platform, TikTok has become a must-have for American users. But a recent Pew Research Center study reveals a surprising trend: American adults primarily follow pop culture and entertainment accounts, leaving traditional media and political figures behind.
The majority of US TikTok users follow content creators and influencers who have gained popularity through social networksas well as traditional celebrities. These groups represent about half of the accounts followed by American adults on the platform. In contrast, politicians, civil society actors and traditional media are almost absent: “Each of these groups represents less than half of 1% of all accounts we examined. And the typical American adult on TikTok does not follow any account in each of these categories.”, bluntly summarizes the study.
The study of Pew Researchconducted among 664 American TikTok users from June 14 to 20, 2024, analyzed the accounts they follow and categorized them based on their content. The results show that 59% of followed accounts post content related to pop culture and entertainment. Other popular themes include humor, personal vlogs, and viral music or dance videos, each accounting for about a third of the accounts analyzed.
Little room for news and politics
Although more TikTok users report seeing political content on their timelines, this type of content is rare among the accounts they choose to follow. Only 10% of followed accounts post content related to political or social issues, and only 5% discuss current events.
Accounts that discuss politics often do so by mixing that content with humor and entertainment. For example, 43% of followed accounts that discussed politics or current events during the study period also discussed popular culture and entertainment. Additionally, 36% posted humorous content, and 17% posted sponsored content.
The study also shows that accounts with a large number of followers are less likely to discuss politics or current events. Only 7% of accounts with more than a million followers discuss these topics, compared to 12% of accounts with fewer than 500,000 followers. On the other hand, popular accounts are more likely to post sponsored content.
American TikTok users follow a wide variety of accounts, ranging from small personal accounts to accounts with millions of followers. On average, users aged 18 to 34 follow more than three times as many accounts as those aged 50 and over: “They also follow a greater number of very popular accounts with more than a million followers,” specifies the study.
The study also highlights that the lists of accounts followed by American users are almost entirely personalized. Of the 250,000 accounts followed by the 664 users in the study, only 5% are followed by five or more users.
TikTok vs X
Compared to a similar study conducted on X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, following behaviors on TikTok show a notable difference. On Twitter, the accounts followed by the largest number of American users include a much higher proportion of media outlets, political figures and political rights groups. These accounts are almost non-existent among the most followed accounts on TikTok, the study highlights.
The Pew Research Center study highlights a clear trend: American TikTok users favor entertainment and pop culture, leaving aside traditional media and political figures. This preference for light and entertaining content reflects the main use of the platform by its users, who seek above all to be entertained.
