There’s still a common preconception that TikTok is just for Gen Z/the under 30s, and while it’s true that a lot of the content on the platform is created by this camera-happy age group, they are not the entire demographic. There are people of all ages on the app, and while many older age groups are defined as lurkers who consume content rather than create it, we’re increasingly seeing people outside Gen Z become content creators on the platform.

In this article, we’re going to look at three emerging communities that have found a home on TikTok, who they are, what they are interested in, and why it should matter to you.

Dreamcore

Dreamcore has been around since at least 2020, and it’s been steadily growing on TikTok since then. The hashtag currently has almost 8 billion views, but despite this it’s still not really entered the mainstream vernacular.

The TikTok audience is a super even split of male and female creators. The top three hashtags we see used alongside #dreamcore, are #weirdcore, #liminalspaces, and #backrooms. Backrooms itself being a creepy pasta internet lore that originated from a 2019 4chan thread. This is the weird internet made accessible via TikTok (it’s also massive on Pinterest and YouTube).

A common image associated with dreamcore aestetic. The original picture belongs to CarrotwithaK.

It’s a truly global phenomenon, although the US dominates the conversation, Mexico and Brazil are also key players. The audience who most commonly create this content are mostly interested in art, music, AI and videogames. This is a very online audience who are less likely to be found outside touching grass, instead they’re probably on a private discord curating the ultimate playlist.

Common dreamcore aesthetics are surreal, speak of liminal spaces and dreamy/nightmarish visual elements.

AI tools have made creating dreamcore imagery easier than ever, which might explain part of its continuing rise, but dreamcore is more than a visual, it’s a vibe.

Why does any of this matter? In a world of sameness, millennial grey and conformity, the rise of dreamcore shows us that there’s still a massive chunk of TikTok users worldwide who enjoy the weird.

Perimenopause

Perimenopause, a hormonal change that typically happens to women from the onset of their forties, generated 2 billion views from Jan 25-Jan 26. That’s half of all time's total 4 billion views in just the last year. This proves that the TikTok user base are likely older and more diverse than most believe.

When I investigated the conversation around perimenopause across all of social media, I found that TikTok was actually home to the majority of the perimenopause conversation, outperforming even Instagram, the traditional online home of the 35+ female.

Social platforms sorted by volume of mentions of perimenopause during 2025. Source: Kim Townend.

Below you’ll see a network graph showing how perimenopause overlaps with other hashtags. Looking at this data helps us to infer general themes, communities and products that exist within the larger perimenopause conversation.

This chart shows the conversation on TikTok, globally between Nov 1st and Dec 31st 2025.

One reason you should be paying attention to the perimenopause conversation is that it overlaps with so many other categories. From general health, into wellness, skincare, weight loss, depression, fitness, parenting, relationships and more.

Perimenopause is a historically underserved area of women’s health that wasn’t talked about publicly, but GenXers and older millennials are changing that.

People are turning to one another to discuss symptoms, supplements, products and support networks that can help.

The perimenopause community is vast (we tracked over 1.3 million mentions across social media during 2025), and as more millennials hit midlife, it’s expected to continue to grow.

Hockey Romance

Hockey romance has been having a moment. For the uninitiated, hockey romance is an offshoot of sports romance, which is an offshoot of romance, the biggest genre on #booktok.

Hockey romance has been a thing on booktok for years now, and features die-hard fans known as puck bunnies.

The reason for the massive peak in views on the chart below (which tracks #hockeyromance on TikTok over the last quarter) is the global phenomenon TV show Heated Rivalry, based on a series of hockey romance novels, the ‘Game Changers’ series by Rachel Reid.

The wildest thing about Heated Rivalry is that it’s brought a much wider audience to #hockeyromance. Traditionally, this was a primarily female audience in their thirties, but we’re now seeing people of all genders and ages engaging in the conversation.

But why should you care about a subset of a subset of a booktok hashtag?

Well, because yet again, booktok has driven a massive shift in pop culture. Heated Rivalry has created a global, rabid fandom in a way we haven’t seen a TV show achieve without a significant marketing budget in years. 

Keep an eye on romance to watch the TV trends of tomorrow happen before anyone else.

What does this mean for you and your brand?

As the internet and social media continue to fracture into smaller algorithm-fed communities, there’s no longer one dominant ‘online’ or social narrative. 

Instead of trying to appeal to ‘everyone’, identify the communities that align with your products and values, rather than the ones everyone else is talking about. Use a social listening tool to investigate relevant conversations and themes, and you might be surprised at what you can find. Just be sure to have a reason to be in the conversation beyond a sales opportunity!

This is a guest article compiled by Kim Townend, an award-winning social strategist and social listening consultant with 20 years of social-specific experience. She's worked with brands, broadcasters, and governments worldwide and is an expert in turning data into insights and insights into strategy. Find her at her website: https://kimtownend.com/ or LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimtownend/