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For the past few years, TikTok faced a potential ban in the United States because of concerns about its Chinese ownership. That changed in January, when the company agreed to put its U.S. operations in a new venture backed largely by non-Chinese investors.
In the wake of that deal, here’s what we know about Americans and TikTok from Pew Research Center studies.
About four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) say they use TikTok, up from 21% in 2021. It’s one of a few platforms we study that have seen sustained growth over this period.
The share of U.S. adults who use TikTok has nearly doubled since 2021
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use TikTok
Note: We conducted the poll via phone in 2021; via web and mail in 2023; and via web, mail and phone in 2024 and 2025. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 5-June 18, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
The share of U.S. adults who use TikTok has nearly doubled since 2021
% of U.S. adults who say they ever use TikTok
| Year | Percent |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 21% |
| 2023 | 33% |
| 2024 | 33% |
| 2025 | 37% |
Note: We conducted the poll via phone in 2021; via web and mail in 2023; and via web, mail and phone in 2024 and 2025. Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 5-June 18, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Majorities of young adults and teens use TikTok. About six-in-ten adults under 30 (63%) say they’re on the platform, compared with smaller shares of older adults:
- 44% of those ages 30 to 49
- 30% of those 50 to 64
- 12% of those 65 and older
In addition, 68% of teens ages 13 to 17 report using the platform. That share has stayed relatively stable in recent years and makes TikTok one of teens’ top-used platforms, among those we study.
Roughly one-in-five U.S. teens report being on TikTok “almost constantly.” Black and Hispanic teens are more likely than White teens to be almost-constant TikTok users. (In that survey, there were not enough Asian teens in the sample to be broken out into a separate analysis. As always, their responses are included in the general population figures.)
Teen girls are also slightly more likely than teen boys to report this kind of use.
About 1 in 5 teens are on TikTok almost constantly; Black, Hispanic teens stand out
% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use TikTok almost constantly
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not answer or gave other responses are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
About 1 in 5 teens are on TikTok almost constantly; Black, Hispanic teens stand out
% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 who say they visit or use TikTok almost constantly
| Group | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. teens | all | 21% |
| Boys | gender | 17% |
| Girls | gender | 24% |
| Black | race/eth | 37% |
| Hispanic | race/eth | 34% |
| White | race/eth | 10% |
Note: White and Black teens include those who report being only one race and are not Hispanic. Hispanic teens are of any race. Those who did not answer or gave other responses are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. teens conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Entertainment is the main draw for adults on TikTok. In a 2024 Center study from the Pew-Knight Initiative, 95% of adult users said this was a reason they use the platform, including 81% who called it a major reason.
By comparison, 65% of adult users said they use TikTok to connect with people who share their interests, 62% use it to look at product reviews or recommendations, and 53% use it to keep up with sports or pop culture.
Just over half of U.S. adults who use TikTok (55%) say they regularly get news there. That works out to 20% of all U.S. adults, up dramatically from 3% in 2020.
Some demographic groups are especially likely to get news on TikTok:
- Younger adults: 43% of U.S. adults ages 18 to 29 say they regularly get news on TikTok, compared with 3% of Americans ages 65 and older.
- Women: 24% of women and 15% of men say they regularly get news on TikTok.
- Hispanic and Black Americans: Hispanic (36%) and Black (30%) Americans are much more likely than Asian (17%) or White (14%) Americans to say this.
- Democrats: Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are modestly more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say this (23% vs. 17%).
Many adult TikTok users see breaking news content there, but it’s less common than other types of news. Users were more likely to say they see funny posts (84%) and people’s opinions (80%) related to current events rather than news articles (57%) or breaking news (55%), according to a 2024 Center study from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
News consumers on TikTok were less likely than those on Facebook and Instagram to say they get news there from friends, family and acquaintances. They were also more likely to get news from people they don’t know personally.
Americans’ support for a TikTok ban dropped from 50% in spring 2023 to 34% in 2025. The share who saw TikTok as a national security threat also dipped in that period.
Over 2 years, support for TikTok ban dropped from 50% to 34%
% of U.S. adults who say they would __ the U.S. government banning TikTok
Note: Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 24-March 2, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Over 2 years, support for TikTok ban dropped from 50% to 34%
% of U.S. adults who say they would __ the U.S. government banning TikTok
| Date | Not sure | Oppose | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-03 | 28% | 22% | 50% |
| 2023-10 | 35% | 27% | 38% |
| 2024-08 | 39% | 28% | 32% |
| 2025-03 | 33% | 32% | 34% |
Note: Those who did not give an answer are not shown.
Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 24-March 2, 2025.
PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Americans who supported a ban tended to cite concerns about data security and TikTok’s Chinese ownership. For those opposed, the most common major concern was the restriction of free speech.
Republicans were more likely than Democrats to support a ban in 2025 (39% vs. 30%). Still, support had declined in both parties.
A quarter of TikTok’s users produce most of its content. Our 2023 study of TikTok content posted by U.S. adults found that 98% of publicly accessible videos came from the most active 25% of users.
Overall, 52% of U.S. adult TikTok users have ever posted a video there.
Adults who have posted on TikTok are more active on the platform than users who don’t post. They follow more accounts, have more followers themselves and are more likely to have an account bio.
Although younger adults are more likely to use TikTok, their posting behaviors don’t differ much from those of users in older age groups.
Note: This is an update of a post originally published April 3, 2024.
