Over the last seven years, TikTok has reigned supreme, attracting the time and attention of teenagers across the globe, especially in the United States. With its dominating success, the United States government has grown increasingly worried about TikTok’s security risks, as it is the product of a Chinese company. As a response to these concerns, the U.S. government has attempted to enact a ban on the app over the last two years, achieving success on April 24th, 2024 as President Biden signed a bill giving ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, nine months to sell the app, lest TikTok be banned.
Feeling the pressure of the ban, TikTok decided to sue the United States government, claiming that a potential ban would be an infringement on personal rights. But with nothing to do at the moment, the future of TikTok seems bleak. Since the ban would prevent any further downloads or updates of the app, it would eventually become unusable, significantly impacting the lives of teens across the United States.
As the decision to ban TikTok becomes a more apparent reality, people must prepare for when it will be inaccessible. A common prediction is that current users of TikTok will start to use other apps that offer similar types of ‘short form’ content.
“People are going to migrate to other apps with similar media formats as TikTok, like Instagram [Reels] and [Youtube Shorts],” suggested sophomore Kofi Kanyi.
With such a sudden migration, the lives of those who create and consume the content are sure to be affected. For creators that rely on TikTok, suddenly moving platforms could cause considerable issues. Moving platforms has the unfortunate result of losing followers and potential revenue. With no other choice, creators are forced to sacrifice some of their platform just to continue creating content.
For many users, using a new app and retraining a new, worse algorithm might dissuade them from jumping platforms entirely. In the case that the ban goes through many might stop consuming short-form content as a whole. In this way, the ban could possibly affect their lives in positive ways, given they do not switch to similar platforms. Decreasing attention spans in teenagers and children has grown to be a major problem recently, only fueled by short-form content like TikTok. Without making the jump, people might find better outlets for their time and more healthy forms of entertainment, bettering their attention span.
“The consequences of the ban are going to be a lot of social media influencers switching to different platforms. A lot of children are also going to stray away from TikTok, which may improve their lives, but a lot of kids are [also] gonna be upset,” predicted senior Geontak Park.
With the TikTok ban being such a hot issue, discourse arises over whether or not it is reasonable. While some believe the negative effects that beset creators and users make the ban unreasonable, others don’t see the ban to be all that important. With other easily accessible platforms users can migrate to, the ban does not entirely restrict a user’s access to short-form content.
“I think [the ban] is reasonable because people can always use Instagram Reels or other platforms, they don’t really need TikTok anymore,” postulated junior Raffaella Galati.
The idea of a TikTok ban has been a highly contentious debate that has plagued the United States for over a year. With recent government action, the reality in which TikTok is no longer available for United States citizens must now be considered. Many believe this decision will worsen the quality of entertainment, causing issues for creators and users alike. While others do not see the ban as a pressing issue. As the clock ticks until TikTok is banned, the decision lands on TikTok on what to do. All there is to do now is watch how the conflict plays out as 2024 continues, all the while preparing for the enforcement of the ban.
