The Pew Research Center and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation released new survey data that suggests TikTok may not be as influential in US politics as many believe. Despite the app’s popularity with 170 million US users, most TikTok users prioritize entertainment, culture, and connecting with friends over political content. Only 12% of users reported posting any political content, and politics ranked last among reasons for using the platform.
The survey found that 4 in 10 TikTok users see some political content on the app, but the majority are not actively seeking it out. While 33% use TikTok to keep up with politics and 41% use it for news, the primary reasons for using the platform are entertainment, product reviews, and sports or pop culture. Many users who do not post about politics on TikTok cited a lack of interest in politics or a belief that it doesn’t belong on the platform.
Previous research showed that 40% of TikTok users identified as Republican or leaned Republican, while 52% identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic. With former President Donald Trump joining the platform and attracting high engagement, the ideological tilt of content on TikTok could shift. Despite this, the majority of TikTok users believe the platform has no impact on democracy or is mostly good for democracy.
Republican users have experienced a shift in attitudes towards X, with the majority now viewing the platform as mostly good for democracy since Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. This contrasts with Democratic users who are more likely to believe X is bad for democracy. Musk’s changes to the platform, including unwinding censorship of conservative speech, have led to a polarizing response among users.
While political campaigns will continue to use social media platforms to reach voters, the survey results suggest that the impact of these campaigns may be limited. Most users perceive platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as having little to no impact on democracy, while views on X are more polarized. Despite efforts to reach young voters on TikTok, the data suggests that political content may not resonate with the majority of users who are more interested in non-political content.
