For the past 3 years, the US government has threatened to ban TikTok annually but it hasn’t come to fruition.
TikTok is an app where you can create short-form videos to show skits, dances, etc. For the first time, legislation has put out a bill to ban TikTok at the beginning of 2025, leading to the slow stop of the app’s functions.
This ban is happening because the main company that owns TikTok is Chinese, and they believe that TikTok is spreading propaganda, collecting data, and spying on the American people.TikTok is attempting to counterclaim this with a lawsuit, saying this inhibits our “freedom of speech.” So, what does the school think about this ban, and is it necessarily a net positive?
Chelsea Lebiecki, English teacher, says, “As of right now, I do not think it will happen. If it does, I’m sure something else will swiftly take its place. As much as I value freedom of speech and expression, I also think TikTok is incredibly detrimental to young people. I think it pushes harmful fads while changing their attention spans.”
Lebiecki is right, TikTok is not good for us and is distracting, but something will take its place. This replacement isn’t new; it has happened many times with apps like Vine and Musically, and other short-form platforms just like it. The actual ban does infringe on our freedom of speech though. This spying that they proclaim isn’t a stranger to most American companies either and data gets leaked all the time. Who knows what parts of your life are being monitored so can we necessarily call this just?
Maddie Jenken, a freshman, took an opposing stance stating. “My everyday life is scrolling. I don’t know what I’m going to do in my bed anymore. I’m going to be very bored. My social life will be bad too.”
The problem here is that we shouldn’t be as dependent on our phones as we are but TikTok was a ginormous form that people used for escapism and without it are left with grief for an app they once loved. TikTok though is not even the only place with similar content many apps have tried to replicate it to gain the same success the only thing we truly will miss is its chaotic nature and the creators but after this, most will branch out so we truthfully aren’t at a loss.
Gabriella Beaver, a freshman, comments, “I think that it will potentially affect small businesses that thrive off of TikTok and TikTok shop. This will also affect how we bring culture around things and it’s a way for everyone to have knowledge about one subject or laugh about something.”
She also mentions, “This is going to be a downfall because artists like Chapell Roan got their big start on TikTok”.
This is true because through the years TikTok has been around, many artists have gone platinum or number one on the charts due to success with the app. Also, normal people live on TikTok commissions with skits, artistry, and the TikTok shop. When TikTok is eventually gone people don’t know what’s going to happen to their way of income.
Lebiecki thinks otherwise saying, “There will always be a way for creatives to share their talents.”
Therefore, we believe that having TikTok around does have its negatives but overall the TikTok ban is irrelevant and useless and something new will be just like it. A definite positive about it is that maybe we will be able to log off for a while, put down our screens, and get a much-needed break.
We think that we shouldn’t fret because we doubt the people that we enjoyed watching will go away and will shift to long-form content. People always find a way to adapt so in the end everything is okay whether this is real or not.
