Rise of TikTok in US: How TikTok sparked short-form video race…and won

The rise of TikTok in the US, which has over 1.12 billion monthly active users globally, not only pioneered the now-prevalent short-form video content, but also sparked a race in the sector.

Written by: Gazi Abbas Shahid

Published: August 10, 2025, 7:06 PM IST

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TikTok is arguably the most widely-used social app in the United States, with American users spending about 108 minutes on the app on average per day, according to various reports, The rise of TikTok, which has over 1.12 billion monthly active users globally, not only pioneered the now-prevalent short-form video content, but also sparked a race in the sector, which it seems to be winning by huge market.

How TikTok pioneered short-form videos?

TikTok’s rise in the US due to its innovative use of short-form videos, reshaped the social media landscape across the world, forcing US giants like Meta and Google to jump into the race and launch their own versions of short-form video content, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

But despite aggressive marketing and pouring in billions, TikTok’s competitors lag behind, primarily because of the unique algorithm employed by the ByteDance-owned app, and its goal-oriented focus on youth and trending topics, as per experts.

“It is the center of the internet for young people. It’s where they go for entertainment, news, trends, even shopping. TikTok sets the tone for everyone else,” a CNBC report quoted Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at Emarketer, as saying.

Notably, TikTok’s main competitors, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, have introduced new features such as creator tools for users, and are even considering launching separate apps, but have not been able to catch up to the Chinese-owned app.

Why TikTok rise poses health concerns?

However, the rising popularity of short-form video content driven by TikTok, has a vicious dark side with experts flagging rising mental-health concerns and shortened attention spans, especially among younger users. “Infinite scrolling and short-form video are designed to capture your attention in short bursts,” says Dr. Yann Poncin, associate professor at the Child Study Center at Yale University, according to CNBC.

“In the past, entertainment was about taking you on a journey through a show or story. Now, it’s about locking you in for just a few seconds, just enough to feed you the next thing the algorithm knows you’ll like,” he notes.