Booktok, MovieTok, MoneyTok, ASMRTok, MentalhealthTok, DIYTok… The list goes on. These niche communities can be found on the popular social media app, TikTok, where users can view and post short videos that range from seconds to ten minutes long. Since its birth in 2018, when it replaced the social media app Musically, TikTok’s popularity has steadily grown until it has eventually become one of the most used social media applications in the U.S.
On January 19, millions of U.S. users, some of whom spend hours a day on the app or even make a living as “influencers,” faced devastating news: TikTok was gone. Around 11 p.m. EST, on Saturday January, 18, TikTok went dark for its more than 170 million U.S. users. Just the day before, on Friday January 17, the Supreme Court had unanimously upheld the federal law that forced TikTok to either sell to a U.S. buyer or face a nationwide ban; this effectively ensured the ban, as according to CNN, ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, has been adamant about not selling the app.
In its last hours, influencers were seen crying over the loss of their jobs, friends posted their drafts, and many users revealed “confessions” regarding everything they faked for a viral video, most of them unsurprising to anyone who recognizes the fabricated nature of social media.
For less than a day, Tiktok was unusable for those in the U.S. Clicking on TikTok only brought up a message that was edited to include President Trump – “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now,” it read. “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Beginning on Sunday, January 19, TikTok became functional again for U.S. users, with a new message popping up that read, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.” According to PBS, President Trump signed an executive order and extended the deadline to find a U.S. buyer by 75 days.
Trump supported the effort to ban TikTok during his first term, with an executive order that stated “This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.” His stance has clearly changed, proven by a recent declaration that he has a “warm spot” for TikTok and his successful efforts to delay the ban. Given the large number of U.S. users, especially ones who are members of younger generations very relevant to political success, the likely political motives behind this switch are unsurprising.
Many users were joyous upon its return, including some Athens Academy students. Freshman Maggie Parker says she loves TikTok and when asked about her reaction to the ban being delayed, she said, “I was very happy because I really like watching friends’ videos and making my own videos.”
However, despite TikTok becoming usable once again, the app was removed from the app store, meaning that the many people who deleted it before the ban now have no way of getting it back. Some are turning to replacements for the void TikTok left: Freshman Lucy Williams, for example, said, “I deleted TikTok and now I can’t go back on it, so I’ve been on Youtube Shorts.” I know many others with a similar dilemma.
TikTok’s future remains uncertain. Although ByteDance has repeatedly said it will not sell the app, in reality, selling TikTok is the only feasible solution to maintain access for U.S. users. Nevertheless, even if a U.S. buyer were to obtain TikTok, it’s unclear if the app would will remain the same, with past attempts to replicate TikTok’s popular algorithm by companies like Youtube never completely succeeding.
While questions of cybersecurity and U.S. international relations with China are more than relevant in the issue of the TikTok ban, the increasing reliance on social media for the younger generations is also pressing. The algorithms of TikTok, Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts, and more social media programs provide quick bursts of dopamine that can easily become addictive. The negative repercussions of excessive time spent on social media are well-known and felt by many users in their day-to-day lives. For some, it’s not that they don’t want to stop spending hours staring at a screen, it’s that they feel as though they can’t. And for these people, the banning of TikTok may have provided a brief reprieve from the time-sucking trap its expert algorithm provides. When asked about how she felt about TikTok’s ban, Senior Hadley Spurlock said, “I wish I could go back. Those ten hours when TikTok was banned were so peaceful for me.”
