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1.5 million TikTok users/ What are young Albanians following?

2024-12-24 14:40:50, Aktualitet CNA

For Ardit , a 16-year-old teenager from Albania, TikTok is more than a social app—it's a way of life.

Every day, after school, he spends about four hours lost in an endless stream of videos. It's the first thing you check in the morning and the last thing you do before you lie down to sleep. His iPhone screen time report shows that he spends an average of 5-6 hours a day “surfing” on the platform, drooling over trending videos.

According to a report by Kepios , in Albania, TikTok has over 1.5 million users, and 35% of users are between the ages of 12-25 , making this the dominant age group in the use of the platform. These data coincide with the great interest that young Albanians have in TikTok, which turns into a form of entertainment and an opportunity to express their creativity and thoughts.

While Arditi navigates TikTok, the content he sees reflects what is attracting the attention of young Albanians. The most popular videos that appear in its feed are a reflection of the culture that dominates this app and, unfortunately, many of these trends raise concerns.

1.5 million TikTok users/ What are young Albanians following?

Expensive cars, luxurious lives and school fights are some of the content that often comes to the fore. These videos are often accompanied by "influencers" who flaunt their fame without having any higher education, use vulgar language to attract attention, and businesses that advertise their products in a quick and unverified way.

Trends that are attracting the attention of young Albanians:

1. Luxury and satus

The main videos Arditi sees feature luxury cars and young people showing off expensive clothes and popular brands. This trend of displaying wealth without any context or message often leads young people to pursue materialism instead of more sustainable ambitions. According to a report from Datasreportal, this trend is widespread, as a large part of Albanian users are young people who follow these lifestyles.

2. Quarrels in schools

A darker trend on TikTok involves content that glorifies bullying and fighting, especially in school settings. Videos of violent fights or fights often go viral, normalizing aggressive behavior among young people. This has led to disturbing reports of young people choosing violence in self-defense or out of a sense of pride.

3. Influencers with controversial content

Many influencers, often without formal education, use harsh language and post content that lacks substance. These individuals gain a lot of attention by engaging in content that goes viral, displaying an extravagant lifestyle, or engaging in provocative behavior, often without considering the consequences. These trends are visible among a large portion of TikTok users, where 52.7% of TikTok's advertising audience in Albania are male, while 47.3% are female, according to data from Kepios.

4. Advertisements of businesses and products

Even small businesses have used TikTok to advertise their products, but often the line between organic and promotional content is blurred. Businesses in Albania use TikTok to reach potential customers. This shows that TikTok is a great opportunity for marketing, taking advantage of its marketing features and the opportunity to capture the youngest audience.

Growing concern over TikTok's influence

After a tragic incident in November 2024, where a teenager lost his life after a fight that was supposed to have started on social media (but was later denied), the Albanian government has taken action. Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that TikTok will be closed for a year, blaming it for the spread of violence and harassment, especially among school students. In response, the TikTok company stated that there was no evidence linking the platform to the incident, however parents' concerns are growing.

TikTok's regulatory policies exist to prevent disturbing content, but they are often powerless to prevent the distribution of videos with harmful content. However, many users continue to share and view content that violates these rules, including dangerous challenges, violence, and underestimating education and values.

FITNESS

TikTok is a platform where Albanian users are very active and mostly use hashtags related to Albanian culture and identity. According to FastMoss, some of the most used hashtags are:

1.5 million TikTok users/ What are young Albanians following?

#albania with 4.4 million posts and 1.38 billion views,

#albania with 800,100 posts,

#alhqiptaretneperbote with 918,800 posts,

#Albania with 352,000 posts,

#bbvipal, with 148,100 posts

#luizejlli, with 353,100 posts

#edirama, with 33,600 posts

#leke, with 94,200 posts

Also, according to a report from Brand24 , about 240 million posts mention Albania on TikTok, reflecting a great commitment of Albanian users on this platform. This high level of posts and views shows the strong influence that TikTok has on Albanian culture and society, contributing to the formation of trends and discussions that affect the new generation./ Monitor.al