It is no surprise that Google, according to Britannica, has been the leading search engine since 2000, growing exponentially through the years, but the social media app, TikTok, may be giving it a run for its money. According to Forbes, as of 2022 around 40% of Gen Z is using TikTok as their primary search engine rather than google.
People search for things like news updates, recipes, navigation, Amazon and the daily weather. Up until the rise of TikTok in 2020, there was no doubt that Google was the No. 1 search engine, but with new updates and the younger generations using social media more often, that is changing.
Although the percentage of people using TikTok as a search engine over any other one is not high, it is certainly a climbing rate. According to Adobe Learn, over two in five Americans use TikTok as a search engine and nearly one in 10 Gen Zers use TikTok over Google.
The reasoning behind TikTok searching rising among Gen Z has been researched a number of times. The surveys put out by Forbes, EMarketer and Adobe Learn have found different but similar results.
“TikTok shows them relevant content faster than Google,” said Adrienne Sheares, a social media PR expert. “The algorithm knows them well, and they love that.”
Many active TikTok users don’t even need to search for anything because the algorithm is so specific to each person that it gives them that information before they think to look it up.
“My TikTok algorithm is super specific to me and the things I like,” said Lilia Anderson, a freshman finance major.
In 2022, TikTok came out with the opportunity when scrolling through comments or looking at a video, to click on the blue search button. The blue search bar is the most common words or phrases that people searched up after or while watching the video.
Patrica Dowling, a freshman psychology major, said she found the blue search very helpful.
“A lot of the time it helps to provide context for the video,” Dowling said.
While all students interviewed agreed that they use Google or Safari the most to search for things, all also agreed that they find even more information on TikTok.
“The most helpful part [of searching things on TikTok] is that you can find very specific things,” Dowling said. “If I’m trying to look up good hair products, I can always find people who are genuinely reviewing it.”
The ease of finding information is an important topic for Gen Z, considering most students agree that they like to get information fast. Students seemed to be on either side of what platform does this the best.
“[On TikTok] I’m usually able to find the specific answer easier than I would on a different platform,” Anderson said. “Plus it’s in a video; it’s usually people talking about it in basic terms so I can easily figure out the information.”
“The most helpful in finding my answers is probably Google, and sometimes TikTok,” Dowling said.
While the consensus is that the students interviewed find TikTok overall more helpful, other older generations are nearly polar opposites.
“79% of adults aged 55-64, 76% of those 35-44 and 74% of those aged 45-54 use Google Search,” said John Koetsier in an article for Forbes
Gen Z’s parents and grandparents tend to have very different searching habits in everyday life than Gen Z. Older generations have even nicknamed Gen Z the “TikTok Generation” due to TikTok being so successful and popular among that age group.
“No, my parents wouldn’t use TikTok to search,” Dowling said. “I don’t even think my grandparents have TikTok.”
TikTok can be helpful in ways like the ease of searching, the specified answers and the blue search button that helps provide context. Though Google is still far ahead of TikTok and any other search engine in the race for No. 1, this shift is reshaping the way people may search forever.