The social media landscape has been changing quite drastically over the years. From Twitter to Facebook to Instagram, people have been jumping from one to the next. While Facebook is still popular, the user profile has changed. Now TikTok is the social platform with the “it” factor, especially among the Gen-Z generation (age 10-26).

Earlier this year, Nikkei BP Consulting conducted an SNS usage survey among 4000 people in the Gen-Z generation in Japan, and the results are surprising. Perhaps, Japan’s “Galapagos” phenomena are happening in the SNS industry as well.

Popular SNS platforms – Global

Facebook has the most user base globally.

Popular SNS platforms – Japan

Twitter has the most user base in Japan by far, followed by Facebook and Pinterest.

Popular SNS platform and age group in Japan

TikTok is definitely popular among teenagers, but it seems that the popularity declines when they hit their 20s as it falls behind YouTube, Twitter, and LINE.

Furthermore, Gen-Z in 19-26 age group responded to the survey that only 23% of them said they use TikTok at least once a week compared to 80% for YouTube and/or LINE, and 70% for Twitter and Instagram.

SNS as Information Source

Another popular belief is that the younger generation goes to SNS to find information. In the above-mentioned survey, Gen-Z picked SNS as the best information source less than expected 18.5%. At the same time, despite the common belief, they picked search engines and professional sites as the number one source of information (27%). In fact, books/magazines and TV ranked higher than SNS as the information source (21% and 19.5% respectively).

It seems that Gen-Z uses SNS for pure fun and entertainment purposes, but not as the main source of information.

As a digital marketer, adding TikTok to the marketing mix is a smart idea, but focusing too much on it would likely limit the reach in Japan, especially if your target audience is 20 and older.