TikTok will now show its STEM feed to adults, not just teens | TechCrunch

TikTok announced on Wednesday that it’s bringing its STEM feed to all users in the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland by default. Previously, the feed was only turned on by default for users under the age of 18.

The social network says the expansion will make it easier for people to find educational content on the app.

Although the feed will be enabled for all users in these countries by default, you can turn off the feed by going into the app’s settings and navigating to the “content preferences” section.

TikTok initially launched the STEM feed in response to criticism from lawmakers and rights groups who argue that TikTok is harmful to teens and uses addictive design practices to keep users engaged for as long as possible.

The company has been using the launch of the STEM feed to counter claims that TikTok is harmful for young users. TikTok CEO Shou Chew touted the feed while testifying in two separate U.S. congressional hearings, one in March 2023 and one in January 2024.

Given that TikTok has been criticized for being harmful to your mental health, regardless of whether you’re a teen or not, the company may be looking to counter these sorts of claims by expanding the STEM feed to adults as well.

The company says that the STEM feed provides a space for co-learning, inspiration, and enrichment. By displaying STEM content to users by default, TikTok is looking to market itself as a place for learning, not just doomscrolling.

TikTok says that since the STEM feed launched, the app has seen an 18% increase in STEM-related content and that videos in the feed have reached 200 million views. The company plans to expand local language support for the feed in the future.