Tik Tok is an app that became very popular in 2019-2020 during quarantine. While starting as a dancing app it has become so much more to its creators and normal viewers. It’s an app where anyone can make videos expressing themselves and find others that relate to them. It has given many people means of income, friendships, and entertainment. Recently, the government has decided that this app was a danger to the US users since it was run by a man in China, and it’s believed that the app is giving the people of China our information. To prevent this, the government came up with the idea that they needed to ban this app and make it where it stops updating and taking it off the app store, leading the app to eventually collapse. This caused an outrage the night of January 18th, 2025. Sunday night, when everyone went to do their nightly scrolling a notification popped up saying “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now” while continuing to say “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” Everyone went to bed upset that night only to wake up and be back. No one knows if the app will be staying for good or sometime in the future it will be banned once again.
No one thought that TikTok was going to get banned, “I think the dates for the banning will just continue to get pushed back more and more as the dates come.”, said Freshman Jenna Taylor. People spend continuous hours on TikTok everyday. “I personally only use TikTok a couple of minutes a day because I have very little screen time”, said High School Teacher Ms. Williams. While some are on it much, much more than others, there are still a few people who aren’t so stuck to the app. “I go one TikTok everyday, whenever I wake up and whenever I go to sleep and some in between so I would say at least four hours”, said Freshman, Aubrey Edwards. This app is loved by people of all ages across the world.
While the banning of TikTok can be beneficial, it’s still not wanted. “I think the ban will help me stay less distracted so I can focus more on school and extracurricular’s.”, said Jenna Taylor. Obviously the app isn’t perfect but still has many good qualities. “My least favorite thing about TikTok is that there is an ad after every single video and what I like most about it is that my favorites and saves can be hidden if I want them to be.”, said by Ms Williams. The likes and dislikes vary. “I like the filters and I hate that people can see what I repost”, said Aubrey Edwards. While others feel the opposite. “I like reposting videos and seeing others and when they repost them and I don’t like that people can turn off their profile views so I can’t see when people view my account.”, said Jenna Taylor. Whether you watch TikTok for the tutorials or the “Get Ready With Me” there is something for everyone. “My favorite influencer is Katie Richie and she makes Get Ready With Me videos for all of her nights out or for TikTok influencer events.”, said Aubrey Edwards. TikTok can help people in many different ways. “Kaida Jae is my favorite influencer because she has really pretty curly hair and she posts a lot of tutorials and get ready with me’s that help other people struggling with their curly hair”, said Jenna Taylor.
Believe it or not, TikTok has affected people’s everyday lives. “I’ve had TikTok since it came out and I’m on it 24/7, like obsessed at this point.”, said Aubrey Edwards. Not even for entertainment but meeting others or reconnecting with others. “I’ve had tiktok since it came out and some random people see me on there and comment on my posts and I have no idea who they are.”, said Ms. Williams. Some think it’s benefited them and affected their lives poorly. “I’ve had it for around 4 years and it doesn’t benefit my knowledge, I feel as if I’m losing brain cells more and more everyday.”, said Jenna Taylor.
