From the Hype House to numerous challenges and dances to popular memes, there is no doubt that TikTok has shaped the lives and pop culture of Gen Z teens and young adults. Quickly gaining popularity around six years ago, the app has allowed strangers to bond over growing trends, slang, and ideas.
With TikTok now banned, the community it nurtured has been disrupted, severing many online connections. However, instead of only focusing solely on what was lost, we can look toward what can be attained. Since the ban, people have expressed varying opinions and begun reminiscing about the app’s early years.
Background
Over the past few years, banning TikTok in the United States has been discussed countless times. Speculation peaked in March 2023 after the congressional hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. However, it was not until a year later that the House of Representatives passed the TikTok ban-or-sell bill. This provoked the company to fight, arguing that the act violated the First Amendment, which the Supreme Court rejected.
As of January 18, the Supreme Court has upheld the federal law banning TikTok set to take effect on January 19 unless it is sold by its parent company Bytedance (AP News).
Though millions of Americans view the ban as detrimental to their creative expression and freedom of speech, the bill’s main concern is TikTok’s threat to national security. Officials have accused the Chinese government of using the app to spy on Americans, steal their data, and potentially breach their privacy and safety (CBS News).
According to NPR, although Donald Trump has stated he will attempt to extend TikTok’s selling date, the law will still force large companies to “remove TikTok from app stores.” Frank McCourt and Kevin O’Leary, among several others, have expressed interest in buying the app, but Bytedance has repeatedly shown unwillingness to sell it. As TikTok users across America more or less accept TikTok’s removal, they begin to look toward a future without it.
Student Perspectives
While some people believe the TikTok ban is necessary for national security, most TikTok users view it negatively as it impacts influencers, small businesses, and social lives. Here are a few students sharing their perspectives:
Megan Joshua (10): The TikTok ban is disappointing because it takes away a platform of creativity and hurts small businesses struggling to reach a wide audience. It also disconnects communities that have built strong connections over the years.
Eunice Kim (11): The TikTok ban affects me as a content creator, for the followers I have interacted with are individuals I am going to lose contact with. It’s tough focusing on posting on different platforms too because TikTok was my best source of media.
Ethan Huynh (11): Many users have switched to platforms like Xiao Hong Shu, so TikTok still has a long way to go before losing its relevance.
Faith Alam (12): I’m really sad about the TikTok ban since I go on the app all the time, and I’ve had it for a while. I think so many things will change due to the loss of it. TikTok has a big impact on what becomes popular in pop culture, the media, stores, and more, so I think major changes will happen culturally and economically due to this ban.
Parting With a Platform of Culture and Creative Expression
Throughout the years, TikTok has cultivated numerous trends and inside jokes. It encouraged liberal thinking, offered new viewpoints, inspired new opinions, granted users a way to share their passions, planted ideas such as “hope core” and “romanticizing life,” and acted as an outlet for LGBTQ+ people to express themselves. While there were always people who attempted to spread negativity, it was predominately optimistic and allowed users to connect with others who shared similar thinking.
Creative expression has always been one of TikTok’s most prominent elements, whether it was through dancing, singing, editing, or acting. People shared recipes, taught others how to dance, gave traveling tips, and posted relatable or funny content. With TikTok gone, they can move to other apps such as Instagram or X, but the community found on TikTok cannot be replaced. One user commented, “I’m going to miss all you strangers.”
Getting Back Our Lives
Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. While TikTok is not the only platform to blame, it has contributed immensely to what we now call doomscrolling. The app effectively absorbs our attention and subjects us to hours of mindless digital consumption by exposing us to never-ending short-form content videos. Although there are more moderate levels of this, most people have formed an addiction that is sustained by thoughts such as “Just one more.”
This unhealthy behavior is detrimental to productivity as well as our innate need for socialization and motivation. Yorba Linda High School psychology teacher Lloyd Walls (S) says, “If it were up to me, all social media would be banned because … when you’re not engaging with social media you give yourself time and space to be present and engage in healthy interactions.”
TikTok had its benefits, which is a significant factor in why many people have become accustomed to using it over traditional conversation. While it offered modes of communication, Lloyd Walls (S) affirms that it “inimically satisfies the [emotional and biological need to socialize] much the same way that potato chips satisfy hunger.”
Beyond its impact on socialization, TikTok’s pull was almost impossible to resist. It significantly decreased the motivation to do anything other than open the app. While we could have accomplished so much more, we often chose to scroll, whether because it was constantly in the back of our minds or because a notification prompted us to check it.
The ban has allowed users to move away from an unhealthy reliance on social media for in-person social interactions. Of course, many TikTok “refugees” are moving to 小紅書 (Xiao Hong Shu), known in English as RedNote, and Lemon8 as replacements. Ethan Huynh (11) believes removing TikTok is not so simple and that “the ban is not permanent since people are beginning to switch to [these] platforms.”
However, with TikTok’s removal now a reality, teens and young adults alike might consider making the best of it. While we mourn the removal of TikTok, viewing the ban in a positive light can benefit young minds, offering an opportunity for emotional growth and healthier habits.