TikTok Achieves Critical Mass, Approaches Twitter's Share Of Social Users

Social media phenom TikTok has achieved critical mass, according to the first-ever official estimates from eMarketer. With more than 45 million users accessing the social media platform at least once monthly, TikTok is approaching Twitter's share of social media users, and is ascending fast.

The Chinese-owned social video app, which launched in the U.S. in 2017, grew 97.5% in 2019 and is on pace to expand another 22% this year.

“TikTok had a breakout year in 2019, and it is incredibly popular among teens at this point. Some are spending multiple hours per day on the app, which is a testament to the incredible stickiness of its scrolling video format. But it has yet to develop a strong following among older generations," eMarketer Principal Analyst Debra Aho Williamson states, adding, however, that even now new competitors are on the horizon.

“This year, we expect new entrants like Firework and legacy players like Instagram and Facebook to take on TikTok,” she said, adding that despite its growth, many U.S. marketers have concerns about TikTok's censorship, data privacy and brand safety issues.

Next story loading loading..