TikTok’s image as a Gen Z playground is facing a reality check. New data from CivicScience shows the short-form video app’s fastest-growing audience isn’t teenagers. It’s Americans ages 45 and older, whose adoption has surged 1,200% since 2019.
From Fringe to Force
In 2019, just 2% of U.S. adults over 45 used TikTok. By 2025, that share has jumped to 26%, a thirteen-fold increase that dwarfs growth among younger groups. The shift is equally striking among adjacent demographics: adoption in the 35 to 44 bracket climbed from 7% to 44%, while usage among 25- to 34-year-olds rose from 8% to 57%.
These mature millennials and Gen X users are upending TikTok’s “youth-only” stereotype, turning it into a genuinely multi-generational platform.