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where did all the time go? For many, it’s not the myriad episodes of their new favorite show that struggle, but the short 30-second to 3-minute TikTok clips that dominate recess and weekends.
A quick scroll on TikTok turned into another scroll, another minute vaguely demonstrated by TikTok’s short format. Soon, those minutes turned into hours on the platform. This obsession with Gen Z cultural phenomenon TikTok is starting to overtake one of the oldest and most popular platforms: YouTube.
Today, I find myself leaning more towards the addictive TikTok than YouTube. YouTube’s algorithms, repetitive “suggestions feeds,” and lack of unique new features don’t differentiate it from other social media platforms.
It’s not just a matter of personalities – the data shows that the platforms favored by Gen Z are shifting. While YouTube currently has far more total users, 230.6 million Precisely, TikTok is growing fast 90.6 million. Despite this contrast in user numbers, YouTube’s growth hits a plateau among U.S. teens, 1.5% Teen users increase from 2020, and TikTok shows 13% Increase.
YouTube’s format is old and boring. TikTok loops viral videos in three minutes or less, creating a platform where the topic of the day changes rapidly. It aligns with popular hamster wheel interest – 10 new trends you’ll miss when you’re away for a minute.
By contrast, the same type of video has always been on YouTube’s homepage. Scrolling through popular videos now, I immediately see gameplay videos, reaction videos with clickbait titles and thumbnails, and music videos from well-known artists like Paramore.
Likes, dislikes, shares, channel’s subscribers and views Both are key to having YouTube videos on trending pages. As a result, creators, channels, and artists with prominent followings are more likely to end up on trending pages than new creators and channels. The algorithm limits the type of content viewers see and affects Gen Z ratings as it focuses on the most popular videos.
In fact, 65% of Gen Z agree that personally relevant content is more interesting than the most popular and viewed content.One a little over half of Gen Z say they prefer to watch content that no one around is interested in, indicating that Gen Z wants a more personalized experience that doesn’t generalize their preferences and interests, but instead focuses on the aesthetics they prefer , theme and humor.
TikTok’s main success comes from its personalization algorithm. Although TikTok and YouTube both create profiles for users based on their interests, TikTok’s algorithm Take note of specific cues—how long a user stays on a piece of content, hesitantly scrolling through a video, rewatching the same video multiple times—to modify what the user sees based on those cues.
YouTube has acknowledged the gap between itself and TikTok by changing its platform. Specifically, YouTube introduced YouTube Shorts, a parody of TikTok’s short video format, updated with their latest update. Collaboration with K-Pop group BlackPink to release new song “Pink Venom” 92,000 video.However, it is clear that the song has had more success on TikTok 1.6 million Remix and dance challenges.
Simply copying TikTok is not a good direction for the platform. YouTube must stop trying to emulate TikTok’s success and introduce an algorithm that not only pushes the most popular videos, but also finds a niche for users who follow their interests.
For Gen Z, YouTube’s educational content hub explaining topics like calculus and history is a saving for our grades, but a missed opportunity for YouTube. This is a key feature that sets it apart not only from TikTok but from other social platforms as well.
YouTube’s recommendation algorithm focuses on Audience Satisfaction, which is measured by surveys and engagement signals such as likes and dislikes. However, YouTube’s algorithm will struggle to keep users clicking on videos once they’re bored with the content they’ve previously engaged with.
YouTube has more content and more popular content creators than TikTok. To keep Gen Z users on the platform, YouTube must leverage its long-form content by marketing its educational content and niche creators. It will also have to overhaul its algorithms to discover potential user interests beyond what users search and watch.
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