Look and learn
The phone is already in her hand when the question forms in her mind. Bareera Asad, a university student in Karachi, is sitting at home, revising notes for an upcoming class. She needs to understand a concept she missed earlier in the week. She only requires more clarity about the concept, not deep research. She could open a browser and type the question into Google. She could scroll through an article. Instead, she opens TikTok.
She does not type a full sentence. A few keywords are enough. Within seconds, short videos begin to appear on her phone screen. One person explains the concept using a whiteboard. Another breaks it down with examples. A third repeats the idea in simpler terms. Bareera watches closely, pausing once, rewinding, then moving to the next clip. In less than five minutes, the confusion feels manageable.
Across Pakistan, students are searching for study tips on TikTok or YouTube while parents are watching how-to repair videos on Facebook or Instagram instead of reading manuals. Seconds-long reels help travellers decide their next destination, a decision that once might have sent someone to a search engine or a written travel guide now leads elsewhere.
The instinct is no longer to read first. It is to watch.
This shift is not always deliberate. Many people do not describe it as a change at all. It simply feels easier. Video shows what words often struggle to explain. It allows people to see a process unfold, then to judge for themselves whether something looks right, and makes sense. Instead of trusting a single source, viewers move between multiple voices, comparing, confirming, and absorbing information in fragments.
Searching, in this form, becomes less about finding the perfect answer and more about sensing one. The act is visual and human. It carries tone, expression, and experience in ways text rarely can. For many users, especially younger ones, this is now the most natural way to learn.
Not reading first
For a long time, searching was closely tied to reading. It meant scanning lines of text, opening links, and trying to piece together an answer from paragraphs written by people you could not see. The process demanded patience and, often, a level of comfort with abstraction. You had to imagine the steps, translate instructions into action, and trust that the explanation on the page would hold up once you tried it yourself.
Through video, learning now often arrives through demonstration rather than description. A concept explained through movement, gesture, and sequence feels immediate. Step-by-step visuals remove the guesswork that text can introduce. They feel faster, as they not only save time, but because they reduce mental effort. Watching someone perform a task allows the viewer to follow along at their own pace. They can pause, rewind, or move ahead.
“Digital is where print media and electronic media combine,” said senior journalist Ali Tahir Mughees who has worked across all forms of media, print and electronic. He described this shift as part of a broader media evolution. “First, your words and still pictures were important, then came broadcast media where video and going live mattered. Digital media is the convergence of both print and broadcast media, where pictures, words, videos and live broadcast all meet each other,” said Mughees who now has his own digital platform named Other News PK and also runs a podcast.
In his view, earlier forms of media each had limits. Print could be revisited but could not show movement. Broadcast could show video but disappeared once it aired. Digital spaces combine both, allowing people to return to visual explanations as many times as they need.
What has changed, then, is not just the format of information but the way people approach it. Searching no longer feels like a solitary act of reading and interpreting. It feels more like being shown an answer that is experienced rather than absorbed.
At this stage, the shift is largely practical. It reflects how people want to learn, not what they expect from the systems that deliver information. The deeper implications, for trust and responsibility, come later.
Why video works
Video offers clarity. Even when the information is simple, video does something text often cannot. It shows the human side of an answer – through a voice that sounds certain or perhaps unsure; or hands that move confidently or hesitate. A face that looks like yours, living in a similar place, using the same tools, making the same small mistakes before getting it right.
This is why video often feels intuitive rather than merely convenient. It is absorbed through cues that people have relied on all their lives: tone, expression, body language, and the pace of explanation carry meaning. They offer a kind of reassurance that a paragraph cannot provide, even when the paragraph is accurate.
For many users, trust begins before the content even reaches the point. It begins with whether the person feels real. Whether they speak in a familiar way. Whether they show the messy parts, the hesitation, the correction. In Pakistan, where advice has always travelled through people more than paper, this feels natural. Information does not arrive as a claim, it arrives as a demonstration.
It also changes how people decide what is true or useful. Instead of searching for one definitive source, users watch three videos, then five. Not because they enjoy uncertainty, but because comparison has become the method. Each clip acts like a second opinion. When different creators show similar results, the viewer feels they have verified information.
Mughees explained why this matters in practical terms. “Because ‘seeing is believing, they say’. When there is a step-to-step guide for how you can change the colour composition of a video in a Premiere Pro or if I want to register for the YouTube partnership program, it’s easier to get your work done while following the video simultaneously,” he said.
In that sentence is the real appeal of video search. It lets people do and learn at the same time. It makes learning feel less like study and more like participation.
But there is also something else happening beneath the convenience. When people begin to treat what they see as proof, the act of discovery changes shape. It becomes emotional as well as informational. It becomes personal as well as practical.
Search inside content
People were already scrolling, already pausing on videos that explained something useful, already saving clips to return to later. The need to search did not replace watching; it grew out of it. Curiosity, discovery, and answers began to sit in the same place. A question no longer marked a break in the experience, it became part of the flow. Someone would watch a video, feel a gap in understanding, and immediately look for another that went a step further. The movement from interest to information became seamless.
This is the context in which platforms like TikTok began to see search emerge as a core behaviour rather than a feature. “People are increasingly turning to video for practical, everyday questions,” said Asma Anjum, Regional Trust and Safety Lead for South Asia. The kinds of questions people ask reveal how practical this shift to video searching has become. “We see searches for cooking tutorials, fitness guidance, travel planning, DIY skills, and even explainers on complex or emerging topics,” she said.
What draws people to these searches is not novelty but clarity. “Video allows users to see real experiences and explanations. It feels intuitive, faster to understand, and easier to compare across multiple perspectives,” Anjum reiterated. In her view, this does not signal the end of traditional search. “This shift isn’t replacing traditional search. It shows how people increasingly prefer to learn visually, understand faster, and explore information in a more intuitive way.”
As platforms observed this behaviour, video search began to feel like a natural extension rather than an added layer. “As TikTok evolved, we saw that people weren’t just watching videos, they were actively looking for information,” Anjum said. The goal, she explained, was not to pull users away from content but to allow curiosity to move smoothly within it. “Integrating search more deeply allows users to move seamlessly from curiosity to discovery within the same experience,” she said. But when searching becomes this effortless, it also becomes easier to accept what appears on the screen without pause.
Context and certainty
Video does not just deliver answers. It frames them. It places information inside a human setting, shaped by voice, expression, and experience. What the viewer absorbs is not only what is being said, but how it is being said and by whom.
That shift is also visible in what people are actually searching for. In its annual 2025 report, TikTok said searches linked to #TravelTok increased by 53 per cent, while #FoodTok rose by 52 per cent. Searches under #StudyTok were up 60 per cent, and #FitnessTok recorded the largest jump, growing 66 per cent compared to 2024. The pattern is consistent. People are not just watching content related to these themes. They are actively looking for it, using video to plan trips, decide what to cook, study, or make choices about their health.
This added context is one of video’s strongest appeals. An explanation no longer arrives stripped of background.
“Video adds context. You can see who is explaining something, how it’s being demonstrated, and whether it aligns with your own experience,” Anjum said. For many users, this visual grounding feels reassuring. It allows them to place information against their own reality, rather than accepting it in isolation.
At the same time, video changes how certainty is formed. Instead of relying on a single authoritative source, people increasingly rely on comparison. “Many users tell us that watching a few short videos helps them compare perspectives quickly, rather than relying on a single written source,” Anjum said. Confidence builds through repetition. When similar explanations appear across different videos, the viewer feels they have done their due diligence.
But comparison brings its own complications. When relatability becomes a marker of trust, credibility can begin to blur. A person who speaks well, looks familiar, or shares the viewer’s background may feel more convincing than an expert who does not. The line between experience and expertise becomes harder to distinguish, especially when both are delivered through the same format.
This matters most during moments of uncertainty. In everyday situations, the stakes may be low. But the same habits apply when people search for information about health concerns, unfolding crises, elections, or emergencies. The instinct to watch and compare does not switch off. It simply carries more weight.
Anjum acknowledged this tension. “This also increases the responsibility on platforms to ensure that discovery happens in a safe and informed way,” she says.
Designing responsibility
As searching becomes increasingly visual, responsibility takes on a different shape. When people rely on what they see, especially in moments of uncertainty, the experience itself begins to influence judgement. The question is no longer only about access, but about design.
“When discovery becomes more visual, responsibility becomes even more important. People may rely heavily on what they see, especially during moments of uncertainty,” said Anjum. The risk, she suggests, is not that people are curious, but that curiosity can lead them into complex or sensitive areas without enough guidance. “For us, that means designing safety, accuracy, and context into the product itself, rather than treating them as afterthoughts,” she says. “At TikTok, responsibility is not a layer added later. It is part of how we build search, organise information, and protect users across different contexts.”
That responsibility shows up first in how misinformation is handled. According to Anjum, the platform does not allow harmful misinformation and maintains clear policies across areas where the stakes are high. “We have robust policies around specific types of misinformation like medical, climate change, and election misinformation, as well as misleading AI-generated content, conspiracy theories, and public safety issues like natural disasters,” she says. Harmful misinformation is removed regardless of intent, and accounts that repeatedly post it are taken down. Detection relies on a mix of automated systems, user reports, and intelligence shared by experts and partners. “We detect misinformation through automated technology, user reports, and proactive intelligence briefings from experts and our fact checking partners,” she adds.
But moderation alone does not address how people encounter information in the first place. This is where guidance becomes central. For certain kinds of searches, especially those linked to safety, wellbeing, elections, or emergencies, the platform introduces additional cues within the search experience. “In addition, for certain types of searches, particularly those related to safety, well being, elections, or emergencies, TikTok introduces search interventions,” Anjum explained. These interventions are designed to support users rather than stop them. “These are designed to guide users toward credible information and trusted resources, rather than leaving them to navigate complex topics on their own.”
Anjum is careful to describe these tools as supportive rather than restrictive. “Search interventions are built into the search experience,” she said. “When someone looks for information around sensitive or high-risk topics, the platform may surface additional context, guidance, or links to authoritative sources.” The intention, she adds, is not to block interest. “The aim is to support it responsibly by making reliable information easier to access.”
Fact checking plays a similar background role. Through its global programme, the platform works with independent organisations to assess the accuracy of content. “Through TikTok’s global fact checking program, we work closely with over 20 International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) accredited fact checking organisations to assess the accuracy of content and support informed, responsible moderation decisions,” Anjum said. “Fact checkers do not moderate, action, or label content directly on TikTok,” she explained. Instead, their assessments help moderation and policy teams apply rules consistently. “Combined with search interventions, this approach helps balance open discovery with the need for accuracy and user safety.”
Taken together, these measures function less like barriers and more like guardrails. They do not interrupt the act of searching, but shape its direction, especially when the subject carries weight. The system assumes that people will continue to watch, compare, and decide. The responsibility lies in ensuring that what they encounter along the way does not mislead them.
What remains less visible is how users themselves experience this guidance. For those who have grown up watching answers rather than reading them, visual search is the default way of learning. It is in that everyday use, shaped by habit rather than policy, that the next set of questions begins to surface.
Learning by watching
For students who have grown up with a phone always within reach, searching through video does not feel like a shift – it feels natural.
University student Bareera Asad describes it simply. “If I need an answer quickly, I usually open a video app first. Even if I don’t know exactly what I am looking for, I know someone will explain it in a way I can understand.” For her, the habit is automatic. Video is not reserved for entertainment. It is where practical questions go.
What makes it easier, she says, is not just speed but clarity. “When I read something, I sometimes have to read it twice. In a video, I can see what they are doing and follow along. It feels less confusing.” Watching also allows room for doubt. She rarely relies on one clip alone. “I usually watch more than one video. If everyone is saying the same thing, then I feel more confident about it.”
That confidence, however, is not blind. She admits that relatability can be misleading. “Sometimes someone sounds very sure, but later I realise they were just sharing their own experience.” There are moments when she pauses, especially around health or sensitive issues. “I have questioned things before. If it feels extreme or rushed, I try to look for other sources.”
Asked whether platforms should play a role in guiding users during serious searches, she does not hesitate to say: “I think they should. Especially when people are stressed or scared. At that time, you just want answers.” She does not expect to be told what to think, but she values direction.
Her experience mirrors a broader pattern. Sections like LearnOnTikTok, which surface educational content alongside everyday discovery, fit naturally into this behaviour. They are rarely perceived as formal learning spaces. They are simply part of where answers appear. For students like her, the boundary between learning and scrolling has largely disappeared.
Searching, in this form, is no longer a deliberate act. It is woven into daily life. It reflects how people have always learned from one another, by watching, listening, and repeating what feels right. Video has not replaced thinking. It has simply reshaped how thinking begins.
What makes this shift significant is not the technology itself, but the instinct behind it. People are not chasing distraction. They are looking for clarity. They want to see how something works before they decide what to do. They want answers that feel human.
There are no clean conclusions to draw yet. Searching through video is still evolving, shaped by behaviour as much as by design. What is clear is that the act of searching has become more personal, more intuitive, and more visible. In watching others explain the world, people are also learning how to decide what, and who, to believe.