🎧 Open Tabs: Gen Z misses the old TikTok

Open Tabs · Mar 13, 2026 · 43m

Happy Friday 👋

Here’s everything we covered in this week’s Open Tabs conversation:

* Gen Z is already nostalgic for TikTok’s early days [~1:20]. A new Harris Poll found that 79% of Gen Z TikTok users say they miss the early version of the platform — specifically the scrappier, 15-second, less-polished content that dominated during the pandemic. Many respondents cited too many ads, influencer saturation, and the rise of TikTok Shop as reasons the platform no longer feels the same.

* Our POV: This is a classic case of platform maturation. As platforms scale, they become more optimized for…