3 TikTok Sets the Trends, But Does Gen Z Actually Understand Them? Ever caught yourself scrolling TikTok and suddenly jumping into a trend without knowing where it even came from? Jakpat recently surveyed 1,635 respondents about their trend-following habits. TikTok Is Number One It’s no contest, TikTok is the primary place people first discover viral trends, cited by 76.5% of respondents. Instagram trails far behind at 42.3%, followed by friends or group chats (17.1%), YouTube (15.2%), and X/Twitter at just 8.6%. Broken down by generation, TikTok’s dominance is even more pronounced among Gen Z at 84.8%, compared to Gen Y (68.5%) and Gen X (71.7%). Interestingly, Gen X actually relies more on YouTube (30.8%) than Gen Y does (18.5%), showing that preferred discovery platforms vary quite a bit by generation. How Often Do We Actually Jump on Trends? When it comes to frequency, the majority of respondents (38.9%) say they only follow trends “sometimes.” Just 14% consider themselves consistent trend-followers who jump on every new one, while 18.8% say they almost never do. Who’s Most Likely to Follow a Trend Without Understanding It? Overall, 61% of respondents say they rarely or never follow a trend without understanding its context. But the generational gap here is notable. Gen X is the most cautious, with 45.3% saying they’ve never joined a trend they didn’t understand. Gen Z, on the other hand, is the most likely to get swept up, 37.1% admit to having followed a trend without understanding it several times, well above Gen Y (25.4%) and Gen X (18.9%). Are Trends Getting More Creative Or More Forced? Asked for their take on the state of internet trends in Indonesia today, 44.3% said they’re becoming more creative, while 35% feel the pace of change is too fast. The rest see trends as too forced (10.9%) or repetitive (8.5%). Here’s the plot twist: Gen X is actually the most positive group, with 54.7% saying today’s trends are more creative, higher than both Gen Z (43.5%) and Gen Y (42.7%). Despite being the least likely to jump into trends themselves, they’re the ones giving the most credit to the creativity behind them. The Takeaway Gen Z is the fastest to hop on a trend, sometimes before even checking what it’s about. Gen X, meanwhile, prefers to watch from the sidelines, yet ends up being the generation that appreciates the creativity behind trends the most. One thing is certain: if you want something to go viral in Indonesia today, TikTok is still the main stage.
