Tech

TikTok passes Instagram as second-most popular social app for U.S. teens

Key Points
  • TikTok has surpassed Instagram as teenagers' second favorite social media app, according to a report published on Tuesday. 
  • The report found that 34% of teens list Snapchat as their favorite social app followed with 29% picking TikTok and 25% picking Instagram. 
  • Teen usage shows that Instagram remains in first place with 84% engagement, followed by Snapchat at 80% and TikTok at 69%, up from 62% in the spring.

In this article

TikTok General Manager Vanessa Pappas attends TikTok After Party at Bowlmor Lanes at Anaheim Garden Walk on July 11, 2019 in Anaheim, California.
Jerod Harris | Getty Images

TikTok has surpassed Instagram as U.S. teenagers' second-favorite social media app, according to a report published Tuesday. 

The short-video app is now favored among teens second only to Snap's Snapchat, according to Piper Sandler. The report found that 34% of teens list Snapchat as their favorite social app followed with 29% picking TikTok. Trailing Snapchat and TikTok was Facebook's Instagram, with only 25% of teens picking it as their favorite social app. TikTok placed No. 3 in the spring 2020 version of the Piper Sandler report. 

Usage was a different story, according to the report. In that regard, Instagram remains in first place with 84% engagement, followed by Snapchat at 80% and TikTok at 69%, up from 62% in the spring.

The report shows TikTok is continuing to gain market share among young U.S. users, which are a key demographic for social apps. These users are next a key demographic for advertisers, which are the main source of revenue for social apps. 

To circumvent the growing TikTok threat, Facebook in August released Reels, a copycat version of TikTok that lets Instagram users make short video clips of them lip syncing, dancing or doing skits. 

TikTok is owned by China's ByteDance. Last month, President Donald Trump gave approval for a deal that will allow Oracle and Walmart to acquire 20% of TikTok Global, a new company that will handle Americans' TikTok data.

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Facebook's algorithm favors content that emotionally engages: Roger McNamee