What Keeps Millennials and Gen Z Hooked on TikTok?

This article examines the factors that contribute to user retention and engagement (stickiness) on TikTok. The study assesses the motivation, video sharing behavior, and creativity of the video and the influence that content has on 2,301 TikTok users. The researchers focused on millennials (26–40 years old) and centennials (16–25 years old) and monitored their behavior to determine which factors keep users engaged. They hypothesized that it was the “stickiness” of the video that influenced user engagement. The study provides insights into how different age groups engage with TikTok differently and what contributes to the stickiness that influences how long users engage with the platform. The findings are crucial for social media marketing; refining engagement strategies; enhancing user experience, and strengthening brand presence.

Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between continuance motivation (CM), video sharing behavior (SB), and video creation ability (VC) in stickiness. CM, SB, and VC are independent variables, while stickiness is the dependent variable. The model shows that these three factors are positively correlated with stickiness, emphasizing their role in user retention. A questionnaire was used, with responses measured on a Likert scale to assess behavior. Table 1 supports these findings by presenting the factor loadings, reliability, and validity demonstrating a reliability score above 0.70 and factor loadings exceeding 0.78 - a strong association with stickiness. The results validate the hypothesis that user interaction and content sharing are vital to the retention of TikTok, reinforcing the significance of these motivations in sustaining user engagement.

The study examines the relationship between CM, SB, and VC in influencing TikTok’s stickiness among the centennials. While the variables remained the same as mentioned above, a structured questionnaire was performed. The results show that 46.9% of users engage daily, with 47.4% spending over 30 minutes per day, and millennials demonstrating higher sharing and creation tendencies. The analysis confirms strong correlations, with reliability scores above 0.70 indicating that active participation through content creation and sharing significantly enhances user retention, reinforcing that engagement frequency and interaction drive platform stickiness.

Figure 3 shows the relationship between different correlation coefficients pertaining to stickiness for millennials. As mentioned in Figure 2, the variables used - CM, SB, and VC - are reasons as to why participants remain on Tiktok. Millennial tendency to stick to Tiktok is higher than centennials because engagement levels and shared experiences were shared among users which was evidenced since each cumulative number for each topic (CM, SB, and VC) was closer to one compared to centennials. This study shows that participants from the ages 26-40 were more likely to return to Tiktok due to higher needs for interaction and societal engagement.

The study confirmed that SB, VC, and CM are all positively correlated to TikTok’s stickiness, which was a primary reason for retention among the millennials. The study showed that participants remained engaged by sharing content, creating videos, and building a community. Their study supports the hypothesis that motivations contribute to stickiness. Frequency and behavior helped researchers determine that platforms are designed to meet user expectations. Future studies can investigate how AI may influence engagement; short form video increases video engagement; and the psychological factors around virtual based interaction.

Cuesta-Valino, P., Gutierrez-Rodriguez, P., and Duran-Alamo, P. (2022). Why do people return to

video platforms? Millennials and centennials on TikTok. Media and Communication. Volume 10, Issue 1, Pages 198–207. 10.17645/mac.v10i1.4737.