Who would have thought that TikTok – essentially an infant video content app – would overtake Google as the most popular online destination?
Google has been a worldwide ‘home’ for anyone wanting to search literally anything. Everyone knows how vital Google is to our daily life and who can remember life without it? I certainly can’t, nor do I know how I managed without it.
TikTok, once thought to be an app for teenagers and young adults to create dances and voice dubs with their friends, which has changed drastically in the last year with its largest success being in lockdown. The app is home to food recipes, life hacks and tips, small businesses, lifestyle, beauty tips, and more.
The fact that TikTok, an app still in its infancy, has ended Googles 15-year reign as the most popular website shows the huge shift in how people are searching for information and not just using TikTok for entertainment.
No-one could have predicted that a new social media platform could take away from our trusty Google, with an app that has been under fire for security concerns and many other reasons. Proving that this seemingly does not concern TikTok users, the app reported in 2021 that they had surpassed 1 billion users.
TikTok provides short clips of information and shares users personal experience’s which could be of more value to someone searching for an answer than using Google and reading ‘textbook’ responses. As time is limited to most, short clips vs scrolling through webpages seems a more favoured route to find out information quickly. TikTok’s tactical algorithm understands users’ likes and dislikes, leaving you hungry to watch more.
We have always known and trusted Google for everything. But with an app such as TikTok that shares how-to-style videos and ‘hacks’, entertainment and quick information all in one place, I can see how the younger generation use the app so frequently. Businesses have also thrived off free marketing with the app, and it comes with a chance to go viral.
It seems as though TikTok is here to stay, so, how will this change in the search for information impact other considerably popular platforms such as Facebook (Meta), Twitter and YouTube? I guess we will find out.
