This article originally appeared on Business Insider.
To a significant extent, TIK Tok it did not grow in the last quarter of 2023. In the US, it actually went in the opposite direction.
That's shocking for an app that has experienced rocket ship expansion since Chinese tech giant ByteDance launched it in 2016.
The question is why? Some people may delete the app. More likely: There simply aren't any more hours left in the day for people to watch more TikTok videos. This is especially true for young users who are now entering a busy new time of life known as adulthood.
Here are the data. This chart is probably far more worrying for the company than anything else the US ban.
TikTok's growth rate slows
These numbers are the growth rates of average daily users, or DAUs, for some of the popular social media services around the world. This is from a quarterly review conducted by Evercore ISI analysts who monitor Sensor Tower data.
After breaking the competition from 2020 to the first half of 2022, TikTok's DAU growth rate has declined. In the fourth quarter of 2023, the video service lagged behind Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook. Yes, you read that right: the ancient big blue app grew faster than TikTok.
TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
What is happening?
An interesting theory is that TikTok users are growing up and taking on new responsibilities that leave less time for watching videos.
When the app was launched, it took the world by storm. Children and young teenagers were especially drawn to the service's unique content for creators and culture.
Let's say those users were around 13 years old when they first downloaded the app in 2016 and 2017. Now, these people are at least 20 years old. They have full-time jobs or are studying at college. For many, their parents no longer do their laundry, cook their meals, and ferry them to and from sports games, meetings, and other engagements.
For readers who haven't experienced this yet, it's called “life.” These things take a lot of extra time, which leaves less for TikTok.
This also shows in the data. TikTok's average monthly users in the US between the ages of 18 and 24 fell by nearly 9% from 2022 to 2023, The Wall Street Journal recently reportedciting analytics firm Data.ai.
“Time spent” has been the part of TikTok's business that has really caught the attention of investors. American adults were expected to spend about an hour a day in 2024 on TikTok, more than YouTube, according to eMarketer Ratings.
More time = more opportunities to show people ads and do other things that make money. If some of TikTok's core users can no longer afford to spend an hour a day on the app, that's not good for business.
Do you remember Brielle?
This gives me a new appreciation for the honesty of a named TikToker Briellewho was unfairly criticized last year after complaining about her new corporate job.
After landing her first office role out of college, she posted a video describing how little time he had left each day for a personal life and basic chores. Older viewers slammed Brielle for naivety and a host of other supposed failings.
What I understand now is that Brielle was probably just a heavy TikTok user who had recently grown up and realized she didn't have as much time for the app anymore.
Deleting TikTok
I have seen this in my life. My two kids have been big fans of TikTok for years.
The eldest is now in her second year of college, studying mechanical engineering. She rents a house with friends. There's a heavy load of studying, along with cleaning the house, cooking, washing the dishes, emptying the trash, paying bills, and yes, the holidays.
A few months ago, she decided to delete TikTok from her phone. She's part of a competition in her house right now to see who can limit screen time the most.
A year ago, this girl watched at least two hours of TikTok a day. I had given up trying to limit this. She is an adult and I no longer have any influence. And yet, she recently realized herself that she couldn't fit in all her new obligations and continues to watch TikTok for hours every day.
My youngest daughter lives at home and is still in high school, so her daily consumption of TikTok is still massive. She'll be leaving for college in the fall, so she'll eventually face a similar dilemma with her time.
It's not just me
The Wall Street Journal recently interviewed several TikTok users in their 20s. They show a similar story: They began to notice that TikTok, in particular, interfered with sleep, work, housework, and relationships.
They also said many of their friends have deleted the app or reduced their usage in recent months.
Keilah Bruce, a 27-year-old accountant, told the Journal that she stopped using TikTok last year.
“I'm in a good place right now with my friends, my family, my dishes and my laundry,” she said. “I don't want to sacrifice those things anymore.”
“TikTok offers several tools, from personalized screen time limits to sleep reminders, that are used by millions of people to help them make intentional decisions about how they spend their time,” a TikTok spokeswoman said. to the Journal, adding that the app regularly reminds people of these traits.