More time is spent on TikTok than on Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube on a daily average by adult U.S. users (54 minutes), according to research firm eMarketer. These platforms would be fighting for those precious minutes of people’s attention if TikTok vanished, along with newer, smaller competitors.
However, it remains to be seen which app will benefit the most from the actual prohibition, which is probably still years away.
According to analysts who monitor the firm, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, may experience an increase in advertisers given uncertainties surrounding its largest competition.
To cope with their uncertainty, creators are, if they haven’t already, branching out to other platforms. However, users are less predictable, particularly the younger ones who are the main source of revenue for TikTok.
Laptops 1000Will they adopt the perhaps unfashionable mum favorite, Instagram? Could a more recent app such as Triller become virally popular?
Here are some noteworthy TikTok substitutes and how they stack up.
Instagram
With variable degrees of success, Meta has a lengthy history of copying rival services. Similar to Snapchat, Instagram’s “Story” feature allows users to publish images and videos that vanish after 24 hours. Additionally, the business debuted Lasso, a TikTok ripoff, in 2018 but shut it down in 2020.
Subsequently, Instagram introduced Reels 2020, a feed of brief videos that users may make or browse through, akin to TikTok. It has shown to be well-liked.
Could it take TikTok’s place? That varies. Even while a lot of artists publish content on both platforms, some analysts predict that younger users won’t switch to a site that their millennial parents are using. Furthermore, even though Meta’s algorithm is addictive, it’s not TikTok.
“As competitor Meta would attest, replicating TikTok’s algorithm is a nearly impossible task,” eMarketer analyst Jasmine Enberg stated. “In the social media world, TikTok is unmatched in its ability to provide its users with relevant and entertaining content.”
YOUTUBE
Teens in the US still spend most of their time on YouTube, even though TikTok receives more press.
According to a recent Pew Research Centre survey, over nine out of 10 teenagers claimed they use YouTube, making it the most popular site among those between the ages of 13 and 17.
Instagram came in at 59%, Snapchat at 60%, and TikTok at 63%. 2020 saw the release of YouTube Shorts by its parent company Google, soon after TikTok was outlawed in India.
Watching hours of little videos on YouTube, viewers may browse through Shorts in the same way they would on TikTok or Reels on Facebook and Instagram.
Similar to Reels, a large number of the highlighted videos come from TikTok or producers that share content on many platforms. However, YouTube is still renowned for its longer-format videos, so it might not now offer the variety that viewers of TikTok are seeking.
Laptops 1000Snapchat
Snapchat, which debuted in 2011 with its notorious vanishing videos, never really caught on with older folks, but it’s still very popular among teens and young adults.
In 2020, the firm introduced Snapchat Spotlight in addition to its disappearing video feature (yep, the same year that TikTok was outlawed in India and former US President Donald Trump attempted to do the same in the US).
The function, which at least according to Snapchat “sheds light on the most entertaining Snaps, no matter who created them,” can be accessible by tapping the sideways triangle icon at the bottom of your screen.
ZIGAZOO, TRILLER, AND OTHERS
Newer firms like Triller provide viable alternatives if you’re tired of the establishment crowd. They include features similar to TikTok and sometimes even more.
A Hong Kong-based business is acquiring Triller, a platform known for music videos that have attempted to draw TikTok producers to it. However, Triller’s user base is significantly smaller than that of its more established competitors, and the content seems to provide less variety—at least for now.
On the other hand, Zigazoo’s designers claim that the platform distinguishes it from the competition since it was designed with children in mind and features kid-appropriate material.
“Parents need to know that Zigazoo is a TikTok-style video-sharing app for posting short videos of kids completing a variety of kid-appropriate tasks,” the charity Common Sense Media states.
Common Sense states, “Zigazoo is meant to be used with a parent, and personal data is treated as though it’s from those over 13.”
Laptops 1000“Challenges are straightforward creative or investigative tasks, such as ‘Can you teach us how to play your favorite sport or physical activity?’ or ‘Can you find something that is symmetrical?'”
However, as ByteDance is still weighing its legal options to keep the app available in the United States, new, stronger competitors may emerge in the coming months and years due to the uncertainty surrounding the TikTok ban.
If not, users should see those extra 54 minutes a day as a gift to relax with a good book, hang out with loved ones, or get away from screens.
