SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 3 ― Are you using your time wisely? According to a study, TikTok users seem to prioritise the time they spend on the application. And while it encroaches on their time spent watching shows or listening to podcasts, it's time well spent. This new study provides insight to the many facets of users' behaviour and why this attitude is beneficial for brands. We take stock.

Your time is valuable. TikTok wanted to find out more about the behaviour of its users and the time they spent on its app by conducting a study in partnership with Kantar, conducted among more than 7,000 users in March 2021 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Indonesia.

The positive side

According to the results obtained, TikTok users enjoy their time spent on the social network: “They come to TikTok for the community, stay for the creativity, and leave feeling happy and inspired. People love the positive experience that our platform provides, so they scroll longer and dive deeper. They're more attentive and engaged,” said the Chinese giant.

The social network has indeed taken advantage of the pandemic to become the most popular platform of the moment. So much so that the application was the most downloaded in 2020.

A choice in applications

The study also found that users spent more time on TikTok than on podcasts, TV shows, reading, getting information or checking other social networks and dating apps. 35 per cent of users say they spend less time watching TV or videos since they started using TikTok. Forty-five per cent say the same thing about dating apps.

The Chinese platform also has the ability to captivate its users. Forty-six percent of them say they use the application without any other distraction. Furthermore, the multitude of videos motivates many users to take action. Sixty percent learn a new recipe or DIY project, and 59 percent want to learn about current events and trends.

According to the Kantar study, 67 per cent of users who consult TikTok with family or friends send videos to one another, 66 per cent participate in a hashtag challenge, and 65 per cent participate in a trend. Sixty-one percent of them send a message to their friends, 57 per cent learn new dances, 56 per cent film TikToks and 55 per cent to create original content.

Gen Z and TikTok

These types of behaviours are beneficial for brands, TikTok points out: “Users find a constant stream of joyful entertainment, liberating creativity, and endless inspiration that's tailored just for them. It's a positive experience that primes people to join in the fun and take action- and for brands, TikTok's proactive population can have a huge effect.”

Generation Z is the most engaged on TikTok, says the social network: “And in some markets, like the US, Canada, and Europe ― Gen Z is driving the most off-app purchase on TikTok.” Some 25 per cent of users say they have researched or purchased a product after having seen an ad on TikTok.

Forty-one percent of this generation's users claim to listen to fewer podcasts since signing up on the platform, 33 per cent admit to watching less TV and 50 per cent follow a creator after watching TikToks. ― ETX Studio