How TikTok became Gen Z’s search engine... and why we’re worried 

we are all screwed. Teaching critical thinking in school has never been more important

I’m technically Gen Z (born in ‘98) but even I was today years old when I learned that people use TikTok like Google

"Having grown frustrated with the ads that populate the top of google searches" How does Gen Z not know about ad blocker browser extensions???

If the majority of Gen Z say they don't care about data privacy, that's deeply disturbing to me. It basically opens the floodgates for multinational corporations (and foreign governments) to collect all the information they want about you. That's a nightmare straight out of the book 1984 😖😖

Gen Z makes fun of Boomers for believing whatever they read online and then do the same thing with Tik Tok lmao

I’m a Millennial and I’m flabbergasted. How do you use video format for all your inquiries?? It seems way easier to just read an article. It just seems exhausting to watch a video about every little thing. I use Google and reddit

So weird because so many of the people offering advice and “information” on tiktok are just like 20 year olds who are either just regurgitating things that they also heard on tiktok or are in the middle of taking a college course in a subject for the first time and are misinterpreting/misusing that information and teaching it like they know what they’re talking about when they really don’t.

the reason being google ads?? why tho, it's so easy to scroll past

As a millennial, I never used TikTok. It breaches data privacy and that is concerning imo. Since so many north americans use it, that is concerning because some companies know too much of what is going on in our lives. Something should be kept private.

Not gen z but Google has been getting incredibly worse. It takes more time to find known sites and decent information with no bias.

I’ve only used tick tock to look at cute dog videos 😂 I’m a either really old Gen Z or a very young millennial. It’s very odd for me. I can relate to millennials as well as Gen Z but there’s stuff I also don’t relate too.

I use reddit to search for things, it's not just the ads on google that's the problem, after the ads come clickbaits, then articles that's secretly promotions, then outdated information...

I'm old. I will be using RU-vid to learn and search till I die. Bring me the 90 min documentary on Queen Mary of Scots that I can only find here for free. (Kinda wish Tik Tok would go the way of Snapchat)

I could never use TicToc. Their algorithm always forces me to watch people I have no interest in looking at. They push young, YT, seemingly affluent people in my face so much I logged out and never went back.

Hi Gen Z girl here… what is this sudden obsession with Gen Z? There’s like 4 videos of this I’ve seen from this channel in the past month. Not all of us get our news from TikTok.

As a Gen Zer yeah TikTok is sus

Bro what - TikTok is NOT a search engine

It's not just Gen Z to be honest. Even my millennial peers use TikTok to find all kinds of "information" (often questionable) from medical to fashion advice. I guess the best thing for news agencies and experts to do is to be more present on these platforms. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em maybe

This video mentions 'studies' but doesn't give details, or link to them in the description! The video may well have a point, but it undermines the message about the internet being full of disinformation when you don't say where you got your information from either.

Could you all please do a video about Gen X? I'm a millennial myself, but I feel like we skip over the generation that gave us a lot of amazing music, interesting movies, popular culture and subcultures.

I'm 46, and I haven't heard a single thing from major news sources on the revolution in Iran, or the repeal of ICWA.

I miss Vine. They literally died so TikTok could live but despite having the same features, I barely see them use it like that.

So there are 65 million Gen Xers I get it we aren't in the billions but we are still here please cover something on us and why are there like 5 things on Gen Z they aren't. I thought this channel was on culture not just one generation.

Random content creators being briefed by the white house is absolutely bonkers to hear. I mean I guess glad people may not waste money on journalism degrees but...what???

I feel like a concerned millenial parent or sibling lol

Elder millennial / Gen X cusper here. I resisted TikTok for a while but have since embraced it. I think this was a good, balanced take on it. I find I use Facebook and Instagram less and less and TikTok more. There are many kinds of research I wouldn't do on there but I've loved getting my news from TikTok and using it to learn about different cultures within the U.S. and around the world. As you said many Gen Zers do, I use TikTok like I use Wikipedia--as a beginning leading into more in-depth research using more thoroughly fact-checked sources; as a refresher for things I've already learned elsewhere; or as a way to explore topics that are highly subjective. I most appreciate you pointing out (however briefly) the flaws of Google. I've watched Google become worse and worse over the years (it used to give you results based on your exact term, now it tries to second-guess you and you have to use lots of quotes to even approximate a specific result). I've watched the big business that is SEO turn the top 10 pages of results from a variety of quality sources to a series of regurgitated fluff pieces and content that's trying to sell you something, little of which is particularly trustworthy. It's easy to knee-jerk judge people for getting info on TikTok, but there's bullshit and disinformation no matter what approach, search engine, or platform you use. The only successful weapon is critical thinking skills--which I appreciate you noting Gen Z embraces.

research also shows young people are more likely to be victims of financial scams than older people, partially because they're getting their investment advice from morons on tik-tok instead of talking to someone who isn't a moron.

I know it’s not really in line with what this channel generally posts, but it would be really cool to see your guys’ take on why Americans are flocking to movies like terrifier 2

Seems like this coincides with the lived experience is more important mindset we've been seeing. Ancedotes in comments already have a lot of power. Putting an actual face and body language to that ancedote adds a lot more

I mean I don't really watch the news so when I hear about something I check tiktok to see what other people are saying about it.

I would hope people would not just be getting important info from just one source............. Usually if I see something interesting on instagram, tik tok (and formerly twitter), I go hunt up a legit source edit For backup. Edit2.. I guess you hit on that in the video. LOL, serves me right for commenting before vid was over, ahaha.

Humanity is screwed, isn't it?

I'm confused by this because it's really hard to put in the same box a range of people that right now are between 15 and 25 years old, the ones in their 20's are not going to do the same as the ones in their teens, but they're still the same generation. I'm 19 and this is really weird to me because, at least in my country and with my friends and the people of my age or similar that i'm surrounded by, none of them (including myself) use Tik Tok as a way to seek information or as a search engine, literally none. Maybe that's more common in the US or something idk. Sorry if it's written weirdly, English is my second language and i'm sleepy.

37% of Tik Tok's user base is over 30. (!)

Tiktok is not only fast its also a good app for visuals and the videos helps with fast learning, better and faster than RU-vid or Google.

They can’t ever be a search engine just by the fact that they region-locked contents

As an Indian person, we don’t have TikTok anymore and by the time I realised it’s potential, it was too late. I judged it a little too early. P.S. I still use Google because I’m basic like that.

The only information I get from TikTok is nature facts from Casual Geographic, and that channel just makes me never want to swim in the ocean or meet a Chimpanzee.

TikTok is banned in India. I think there are other similar apps tho.

I may not remember like 80% of the things I learned in college, but the one thing I’m grateful stuck with me is knowing how to research, bc it was primordial to know how to do it correctly in order to pass my classes, I learned to never trust one source and to understand that there is ALWAYS more than one side to the story, more specifically in the international community since that’s what I’m majoring in, it may be way slower than a 3 min tiktok explaining the war in Ukraine but it really helps u understand every side of what there is to know, google is an amazing tool if you know how to use it properly

Ukraine is yoo-KRAIN, not YOO-krain. People confuse it with “the Yukon,” which causes them to stress the wrong syllable.

Not only Gen Z....my friend, a Millennial also uses TikTok to get news 😮‍💨 I have to FACTCHECK him a couple of times!

I will say that some physicians and history instructors post on tiktok. I ran across one (doctor)creator who discussed advocating for yourself when you go to the Emergency room. I think it depends on what you look for. As far as data privacy, that died after 9/11. Snowden warned that our phones are always monitored under "The Patriot Act". Google and Suri are always listening. So, China is not the only culprit. I think our privacy is in more danger from the US government and corporations than some distant country.

The difference between genz with tik tok and boomers with facebook is that genz knows what fact checking is.

Gen Z are the new Boomers. They use TikTok like Boomers use Facebook.

I’m a cusper, born in’95 and I didn’t know this but it’s not surprising 😕

So wait is TikTok a valid form of news and information? I’m an older millennial and I have one for my business but I never use it. Should I be using it for information? I’m a new mom and I see so many moms talking about advice they heard on TikTok and I always just let it go in one ear and out the other.

I feel like people (in the comments) need to take this video with a grain of salt. While spread of misinformation is a VERY important thing to keep an eye on, I’m just seeing a lot of talking down to Gen Z and also acting as though ALL OF (and only) GEN Z does this when that’s really not accurate.

Adds on Google?! I don't see adds on Google. Weird

Theres something really truly ironic about using a Joe Rogan clip to talk about how tiktok is evil… this video really only talks about misinformation and the Ukraine war when there are so many other misinformation pushes that deserve to be explored. This channel use to be about tv and film analysis and it really seems like now it’s just a “decoding the kids” channel

The ads on Google are contextually relevant to the thing you searched for. What were they searching for in that example footage?! 😅😂

Older people also use TikTok as news. My parents are getting into insane conspiracy theories from things they see on TikTok and they believe all of it. It's terrifying.

And there are adults who listen to Alex Jones....

I don't use TikTok like a search engine, noe of the people I know do. Of course I can be made aware of certian issues, and in turn look into it later with further research. However Tiktok does have some great creators who can constructively state and break down complicated issues in the political, activist and environmental (ect.) spheres and comprehensively explain it in the short form content with no bias, which is much more digestible and efficient than watching long form content or reading articles from bought out news outlets and so on. Personally its not my type of way to consume factual media (as I use Tiktok as a time waster kind of app) but for certian serious topics, its great to sometimes even hear news from someone who is a genZ person, someone who has a similar midset stemming form the same generation time period as you.

I'm twenty and this is the first time hearing about this. Can you get math videos on there 😂😂😂

TikTok isn’t _that_ bad. You can use it for useful and practical things, but like everything else, people only acknowledge the sensational shit.

I have a confession , i am 48 and i use tiktok like google alot 😅

Authenticity 🤣🤣🤯🤯 I can't

oh hell no i'm always gonna use google forever 😅 i can't understand nothing about it and some time i get things that scared me so much 😀

Oh, that’s where hyram went

This isn't true

“Real people “

God help us all...

next video:WHY GENZ ARE GIVING MICRODOSES OF COCAINE TO CEPHALOPODS AND RECORDING IT FOR THE VINE

It’s been 260 days of the Russian war in Ukraine, learn to say “Ukraine” properly, and not call it “the Ukraine war,” rather than the “Russian war on Ukraine” because it is a totally unprovoked war of aggression.

Mannn I'm 21 & 24/7 into Google. I think I am one of the rarest peeps on The GenZ who doesn't have a tiktok account.

Horrifying

Some of Gen Z hate a wall of Ads on Google, but influencers are often walking advertisers paid by the company, too. So is the experience really as personal as they would like to believe? Personally, I'd rather Google Search any professional and local information I need (where the nearest hospital or restaurant is) and get a professional impersonal and objective page to me than someone trying to sell me a product in the guise of "I'm your parasocial friend".

I’m new to ticktok. But it’s a good idea to bring environmental issues to my area

i would like if you guys made a video on reddit culture which is far more genuine than any other social media

At the end of the day, following the right people and the correct sources yields rich dividends. You have to be your own investigative journalist.

I find it such an obnoxious generalisation when I see Cis-Het Men spouting opinions on how dancing for an app is silly. First of all, I can smell the toxic masculinity from here and second of all, chill out. Also, there’s this random assumption that the Chinese FYP is Educational whereas the Western one is out to melt people’s brains. It’s giving Orientalism and cluelessness. Why can’t we be fascinated by dancing?

Gen Z kids are punching air right now .

Considering how things went at the polls, I think they'll be fine.

I'm so old.

Make videos about Gen X.

It's just a different shade of BS and ever so slightly better than boomers using Facebook.

If you're going to mentoin people wondering if TikTok is a threat to natoinal security, you should spend the extra two seconds and note it's because it's owned by a Chinese company with ties to the gov't there.

Because they're "frustrated of the ads in google search"??

Can't be worse then fox news

Calling "influencers" on TikTok (or IG or FB) "real people" is almost so disingenuous. Are they human beings? Sure. Are they authentic or real? Nah.

Wiki is not accurate

Lots of us still don’t have the app Google is my best friend

I love that you showed only pro-Ukraine fakes and non of the pro-ruzzia despite there's so fucking many of them on TikTok 👍👍👍👍👍 Also comment on 8:49 about Ukrainian president ofc shows critical thinking skills of the one who wrote it and not the opposite 🙃🙃🙃

I didn’t get my first I phone till I was 15 in 2009; and never really cared about social media since it wasn’t a big deal for me growing up. I had to learn how to play games, I had to learn how to fit in with society and I was pretty good at it, I knew what high society, high maintenance, social media influencers and pop culture people n fans; I studied them, their behaviors, how they walk, their eye contact how they smile. I observed the world around me changing and other men n women blindly following tropes n trends in a desperate futile attempt at feeling anything. I never concerned my interest with that; but I know why people do, and they can’t help themselves, it’s a bad habit of being consumed by a false sense of security that they wore like a badge of honor. They say man is no more or no less than he was 6,000 years ago, but merely he has never changed only the surroundings did. I’m sure y’all have heard of the saying, how does it go again…. Ah, there we go: in all due time, the sands of the hour glass will run dry, so..: TikTok

As a gen Z I'm surely not doing it not only cause my country has banned it but ofc wasn't doing it when tik tok was there and wouldn't cause yoh gotta look up on actual news not only goggle but just other newspapers and articles especially talking about very sensitive stuff yk

They think they aren't paid ads? Wow

It's so scary where we have ended up. We are carrying computers in our pockets (phones) and this is what people are doing 🤯

As a fellow Gen Z-er myself I would say...... Yes, we're screwed

Kids are not so stupids.

I'm gen z and I don't use TikTok

Tiktok is banned in india. Is that good or bad? Can the US ever ban tiktok?

Just shows that Gen Z just consumes information that agrees with them instead of against them. Sure there's nothing wrong with that kind of terrible positive reinforcement. 🙄 And we wonder why TF there's so much misinformation out there. They would rather have someone coddle them and agree with them than actually give them facts that will make them cry. I love technology and the fact that we have the internet but holy shit, do some people need to go back to READING BOOKS WITH FACTS and not just bullshit that feeds into their own bullshit beliefs.

Is the Holocaust real?!! 🙄 My faith in humanity is tanking, whether you've look this up on TikTok or elsewhere...

On the other hand in Brazil the older generation is isolated in their bubbles. Since the far right lost the election we are experiencing some mass histeria.

Do one on the romanticization of poor mental health. Use the film Girl, Interrupted as your main example.

My partner has an 11 year old daughter and it's terrifying the number of bs "facts" she comes out with that she's heard on TikTok. It's really concerning that kids are growing up exposed to that shit before they have the reasoning skills to even attempt to sort the truth from the fiction

I'm scared for the future of humanity..

Fellow Gen Z here….yeah we’re fucked.

"Is holocaust real?"