(NEXSTAR) – Despite the litany of commission-seeking creators whose posts are spliced into the average TikTok feed, a majority of adult users say they check their apps specifically to find some of the content they produce, a new survey from the Pew Research Center indicates.
The survey, conducted in March 2024 by the Pew-Knight Initiative, determined that roughly 62% of adult TikTok users in the U.S. are looking for “product reviews or recommendations” in at least some capacity, with 27% saying it was a “major” reason they use the app. Pew’s questions, however, did not allow for participants to specify whether they opened the app to search for specific reviews, reviewers or recommendations, or if they simply allowed the app to suggest products, reviews or recommendations via their “For You” pages.
“Younger users – especially young women – are particularly likely to use the site for product reviews,” wrote Pew Research Center analyst Michelle Faverio of the findings.
A similar pattern was found among users who identified as male, albeit to a less drastic extent.
While still having significant appeal, “product reviews or recommendations” were not, in fact, the top reason people were looking at TikTok, according to the survey. The top reason was “because it’s entertaining” (with roughly 95% of participants listing this as a "major" or "minor" reason) and “to connect with others who share your interests” (roughly 66%).
“To look at product reviews or recommendations” was the third-most cited reason, followed by “to keep up with sports or pop culture” (53%), “to keep up with friends and family” (44%), “to get news” (41%) and “to keep up with politics or political issues” (36%).
It’s unclear if participants were allowed to be more specific with their responses. The portion of the questionnaire provided by the Pew Research Center only included the seven pre-written responses mentioned above.
The survey didn’t solely touch on TikTok, either. Participants were also asked to reveal their top reasons for using Facebook, Instagram and X.
“To keep up with friends and family” was selected as the top reason for using Facebook, while “because it’s entertaining” was selected as the top reason for using both Instagram and X. (“To keep up with friends and family” was a close second in Instagram’s case.)
More information about the survey’s results can be found at the Pew Research Center’s official site.
