How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day

More than 800 U.S. TikTok users shared their data with The Washington Post. The Post used it to find out why some people become power users, spending hours per day scrolling.

Posted Wednesday, October 8, 2025 11:30 am

Caitlin Gilbert, Richard Sima, Leslie Shapiro, Aaron Steckelberg and Clara Ence Morse | The Washington Post

Jon Freilich, a 51-year-old operations manager in California, described his TikTok behavior as an addiction.

“I’ve never smoked or used drugs, so I don’t know what chemical addiction feels like, but I feel like I’m addicted to TikTok,” said Freilich, whose daily watch time on the app increased by more than 50 percent last year. “There are times when I know I should stop scrolling and get work done or go to sleep, but it’s so hard to stop, knowing the next swipe might bring me to a truly interesting video.”

That’s how TikTok draws people in, with an algorithm that serves up an endless stream of hyper-personalized content to users such as Freilich.

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How TikTok keeps its users scrolling for hours a day

More than 800 U.S. TikTok users shared their data with The Washington Post. The Post used it to find out why some people become power users, spending hours per day scrolling.

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