1 in 5. That’s the share of U.S. adults who now regularly get their news on TikTok, according to Pew Research Center. Five years ago it was 3%. TikTok isn’t a teenager’s dance app anymore. It’s mainstream, and for businesses that want to reach consumers, it’s no longer optional. It’s mandatory.
1 in 5
U.S. adults regularly get news on TikTok, up from 3% in 2020. (Pew Research Center, 2025)
From novelty to news source in five years
When people get their news somewhere, they’re not just passing time there. They’re checking it every day, trusting it and paying attention. Pew’s numbers show how fast that happened on TikTok:
- About 20% of all U.S. adults regularly get news on TikTok, up from 3% in 2020.
- 43% of adults ages 18 to 29 regularly get news there, up from 9% five years earlier.
- 55% of TikTok users say they regularly get news on the app.
That’s the same shift we’ve seen with streaming TV. Attention moves, and the businesses that follow it win.
It’s not just young people
The biggest mistake we hear from business owners is “my customers aren’t on TikTok.” Pew’s 2025 survey found 37% of U.S. adults use TikTok, up from 21% in 2021. And it reaches well beyond college students:
- 63% of adults under 30
- 44% of adults 30 to 49
- 30% of adults 50 to 64
- 12% of adults 65 and older
Adults 30 to 49 are the people buying homes, raising families, choosing dentists and lawyers, hiring contractors and eating out. Nearly half of them are on TikTok. If you’re not there, you’re missing a large share of the people who could be your customers.
Social media is where every age group goes
TikTok is part of a bigger pattern: social media is now one of the first things people of every age open. GWI’s survey of internet users worldwide (Q2 2026) found social networks were the most-used type of website or app for everyone 16 to 54, and still in the top four for people 65 and older:
- Ages 16–24: 97.7% used social networks in the past month
- Ages 25–34: 97.1%
- Ages 35–44: 95.6%
- Ages 45–54: 93.8%
- Ages 55–64: 90.4%, second only to chat and messaging apps
- Ages 65+: 77.0%
Social networks also ranked ahead of shopping sites, email and news for every group under 55. If you want to be where people spend their time, social video has to be part of the plan.
Why businesses that skip TikTok are falling behind
- You’re invisible to a big audience. Customers don’t buy from businesses they’re not aware of. If more than a third of adults spend time somewhere you never show up, your competitors get that attention for free. (More on this in our post on awareness.)
- It’s where people discover what’s new. A new restaurant, a dentist who makes nervous patients comfortable, a law firm that explains your rights in 30 seconds: people find these on their feed before they ever search for them.
- Short video builds trust fast. Seeing a real owner, a real team and a real space does more than any logo. It’s the same reason we tell clients that if you’re not seen on social media, you don’t exist.
- Local targeting works. TikTok ads can be aimed at the neighborhoods you serve, so a South Florida business isn’t paying to reach the whole country.
What a TikTok presence looks like for a local business
You don’t need to dance or chase every trend. The businesses that do well on TikTok keep it simple and consistent:
- Show the people. Introduce the owner, the chef, the dentist, the attorney, the crew. People buy from people.
- Answer real questions. “How long does an implant take?” “What should I do after a car accident?” “What’s on the menu this weekend?” Short, helpful answers build trust.
- Go behind the scenes. The kitchen, the job site, the prep before opening. It’s the content people stop scrolling for.
- Post on a schedule. A few good videos a week beats a burst of posts followed by months of silence.
- Put money behind what works. Use TikTok ads to push your best videos to the neighborhoods you serve, and track the visits, calls and messages they produce.
How Sunray Media Consultants helps
We plan, shoot and edit short-form video built for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, manage your accounts, and run TikTok ads targeted to your market. One shoot day can produce weeks of content, and we report what it’s doing for your business every month. See our social media management and video production services.
TikTok isn’t the future of how people find businesses. It’s the present. Book a free marketing diagnostic and we’ll show you how your business can start showing up where 1 in 5 Americans already get their news.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, “1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020” (September 25, 2025).
- Pew Research Center, “8 facts about Americans and TikTok” (March 2, 2026), including TikTok use by age from Pew’s 2025 survey of 5,022 U.S. adults.
- DataReportal, Digital 2026 October Global Statshot Report (We Are Social and Meltwater), “Top types of websites visited and apps used,” GWI data for internet users worldwide, Q2 2026. datareportal.com. Figures for ages 65+ are not yet available in all countries.
