TikTok Knows You Use It As A Search Engine, And It Even Made An Ad About It
We’ve all done it. Instead of going on to Google, Yahoo, or even Bing, we’ve turned to social media as a source for answers to all of life’s daily queries. TikTok is no exception, and with its rise to popularity in recent years, many people have been taking to the platform as a search engine.
Despite searches not being its primary function, TikTok hasn’t shied away from its status as the go-to for information. To communicate this, the platform has released a 60-second advertisement in the UK that points to how it’s always there to help.
In the clip, a father can be seen moving into a new home with his daughter’s assistance. Of course, they encounter numerous tasks that require help. After all, does anyone really know how to properly freshen a carpet?
The duo turn to TikTok for all of the answers, assisting them to promptly complete each task with answers and tutorials for everything—even how to reorganize an outdated bookshelf, all thanks to #BookTok.
“Search it with TikTok,” reads the short and snappy ending message on the advertisement.
Previously, The Guardian reported that the video-sharing platform had become the fastest-growing news source for adults in the UK, with 7% of the population using it for news rather than turning to conventional outlets.
Google’s Senior Vice President, Prabhakar Raghavan, even admitted to the trend, saying that the company’s studies showed 40% of young people choose TikTok and Instagram for recommendations instead of Google Maps or Search.
Will social media networks eventually overtake the usual search engines as the gateway to unlimited information? It seems probable, though as with YouTube, sites with user-generated content can often fall victim to misinformation and disinformation if not properly moderated.
