Everyone has heard the news about a potential TikTok ban, with half of the country in favor
With the US poised to ban TikTok in 2025, the vast majority of US adults have heard something about the potential ban (85%), even if they never use TikTok. Only 12% have heard nothing about the ban, while 43% have heard “a lot” and 42% have heard “a little.”
- Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to have heard “a lot” about the ban (45%) compared with Gen X (35%).
- Nearly all TikTok users (89%) have heard about the ban. Among those who use TikTok every day, the number is even higher (98% have heard about the ban). Even among those who don’t use TikTok, 84% have heard about the ban.
The nation is split on whether to support or oppose the TikTok ban, with 51% in favor and 44% opposed. About a quarter (23%) strongly support the ban, while 29% somewhat support, 22% somewhat oppose, and another 22% strongly oppose.
- Men are more likely than women to support the ban (55% vs. 48%).
- There is a generational split on support for the ban: 48% of Gen Z/Millennials support the ban. Gen X also shows lower levels of support for the ban (45%), while Boomers/Silent Gen’ers show the strongest support (62%).
- Among those who use TikTok at all, 43% support the ban, while 64% of those who never use TikTok support it. Support for the ban is lowest among the 18% of U.S. adults who use TikTok daily, with only 34% in support and 65% opposed.
TikTok users may seek their favorite content elsewhere or reduce their social media usage
TikTok users will miss the platform’s educational content, viral trends, and their favorite creators.
- Among daily users, nearly half say that if TikTok is banned, they will miss educational or how-to videos (48%), discovering new and viral trends (45%), and their favorite creators or influencers (42%). About a third say they will miss the personalized algorithm and tailored content (35%) and shopping and discovering new products (33%).
- Less frequent, weekly users are more likely to miss their favorite creators (43%) and less likely to miss the educational content (38%), viral trends (32%), shopping (24%), or the algorithm (16%).
How will users find their favorite content? A TikTok ban may see daily users swap to other platforms or reduce their social media usage overall.
- Those who use TikTok daily say it will have a significant impact on their social media habits. While many daily users plan to spend more time on other social media (29%) or use alternative short-form video apps (18%), nearly a third (30%) plan to spend less time on social media overall.
- TikTok users plan to move their activity primarily to YouTube shorts (42%), Instagram Reels (39%), or Facebook Reels (37%). In particular, daily users are more likely to move to Instagram (47%), likely because that is the preferred platform for Gen Z and Millennials, who make up the majority of daily users.
- Some daily users may also consider moving to Snapchat Spotlight (10%) or Lemon8 (12%), but 21% say that no other platform can replace TikTok.
