Thanks to Gen Z and Millennial uptake of video sharing via TikTok, the platform finally knocked Google off the top spot for most popular domain of the year.
It finally happened, people. The almighty reign of the world’s most popular search engine is over – at least for now, anyway.
Google is no longer the most popular online domain as of 2021, with TikTok overtaking after coming only seventh the previous year. According to TikTok’s newsroom page, the service officially reached 1 billion monthly active users as of September, which is insane given it was launched only a few years ago.
It’s even more impressive when you consider that Google owns a huge array of online services, including maps, photos, flights, smart speakers, and entire smart phone models.
The list was put together by tech-security company Cloudflare, who explained that TikTok really took the online traffic charge in the last quarter of the year.
In a blog post, the company wrote that ‘October and November were mostly TikTok’s days, including on Thanksgiving and Black Friday’. It turns out most US citizens were spending their downtime watching memes and dance videos. Given that current lockdown climate, you can hardly blame them.
Wondering who else made the top ten list of domains? Facebook took third place, Microsoft a surprising fourth, with Apple fifth and Amazon sixth. Interestingly, YouTube was just behind Netflix at number eight and Twitter took the ninth spot.
Streaming continues to be as popular as ever, though no mention of Spotify.
So, where did the sudden flock to TikTok come from? Commentators note that the last two years of lockdowns and social distancing have forced many of us inside, with more time on our screens than ever. TikTok provides quick, easy, and immediate entertainment without too much commitment.
Plus, it leans heavily into meme culture and social media trends, utilising viral sounds and songs to create dance crazes, chart music, and even its own homegrown celebrities such as Addison Rae and Charli D’Amelio.
It’ll be interesting to see if TikTok can keep up this dominance over the virtual marketplace next year, especially as lockdowns ease up and slow down. With more of us outside, could we see a slow down in uptake?
We’ll have to see – though I doubt TikTok will be the next Vine anytime soon.
I’m Charlie (He/Him), Deputy Editor and Senior Writer at Thred. I was previously the Editor full time at Thred before moving to Bristol in 2024. As a music and gaming enthusiast, I’m a nerd for pop culture. You can find me curating playlists, designing article headline images, and sipping cider on a Thursday. Follow me on LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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