Why does TikTok know better than yourself that you like Jordi Wild or Vito Quiles?

BarcelonaIf before it was the people who went looking for the news, now it is the news that goes looking for the people. It is one of the effects of scrolling, the action of swiping the mobile screen to continue consuming more and more content. This gesture –often unconscious– has spread to the functioning of the main social networks and describes the routine of a large part of the population, such as 21-year-old Arnau, who spends “three hours a day” on it, he says, surprised by himself. The pioneering application of this new paradigm is TikTok, which began by spreading dances or viral challenges, but which now, with billions of downloads around the world, already offers videos on current political affairs. In just three years, the number of young people between 18 and 24 years old who prefer this platform to get information about politics has quadrupled to 23% in Catalonia, according to the political opinion barometer of the CEO this October, to the detriment of Instagram and X (Twitter), which have fallen by 7 points. But this phenomenon is not exclusive to the youngest: one in three Catalans gets informed via social networks, through creators like Jordi Wild, Vito Quiles, and Inés Hernand.

“We are at the mercy of the algorithm”, summarizes Reinald Besalú, doctor in political communication at the Pompeu Fabra University. While television still remains the preferred medium for the majority of the Catalan population –thanks to the loyalty of people over 50–, younger generations are already choosing social networks as a source of daily information. It does not surprise Besalú: “Social networks are the place where we spend the most time. By default, the practice of getting informed on them also grows”.

The consequences are diverse. On one hand, it can encourage misinformation, since the algorithm rewards short clips that "do not go much further than the headline," notes the researcher. On the other hand, the information ceases to be explicit: "Creators talk about politics while playing video games, showing makeup tutorials, or encouraging investment in cryptocurrencies," they give as an example. Furthermore, the topics that succeed on social networks end up transcending the virtual world and setting the political media agenda, they add. "But is this really getting informed?" the professor asks.

Why TikTok?

The expert in digital communication and director of the master's degree in social media at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Silvia Martínez, shares Besalú's doubts. We are heading towards a more “passive” society when it comes to receiving information, points out Martínez, and TikTok has a lot to say about that. The key is that the Chinese algorithm knows its users very closely: it studies their behavior while they use the application, analyzing which videos they pause on, how many times they watch them, or even the tilt of the mobile phone –the more vertical, the more interest it implies–. Based on this information, TikTok already knows which videos the user will like before the user themselves, and this causes an effect of “infinite scroll”, relates the professor. Instagram or X also use this method –in the so-called “for you page”, where everything that appears is personalized content from profiles you often do not know–, but Martínez believes that TikTok's system is “more refined”.

The influencersare another key piece, especially among young people. “They make their followers think that they have similar lives”, explains Martínez, which brings them closer to their ideology or even their voting choice. In fact, many of the young people in these virtual communities will vote for the first time in the upcoming general elections. One of the names that has generated the most buzz is that of Jordi Wild, who has interviewed three of the main candidates in the elections. He has 2.3 million followers on TikTok, above other well-known names like Vito Quiles –who has 1 million– or Inés Hernand –260,000–.

Adapt or die

The rise of social networks has also reached professional political communication. “I prefer to fill TikTok rather than libraries,” said Gabriel Rufián a few months ago. The phrase summarizes how social networks “have changed the way of campaigning,” claims Reinald Besalú, stealing the spotlight from other media such as television or the written press: “They have had to adapt.”

However, the power of social networks is not distributed equitably. “Right-wing values are winning by a landslide,” points out the political scientist: “The left must learn that the game is also played on social networks.”