TikTok, a popular social media platform, was banned around 9:30 p.m. (CST) Saturday, slightly less than two hours ahead of 11:01 p.m., the initial scheduled time for lockdown. 12 hours later its access had returned.
Due to growing concern for national data security because of China’s ownership of the platform, the U.S. government scheduled a nationwide ban on TikTok set for Sunday, Jan. 19, to give time for the app to be sold to U.S. buyers.
The early ban caught students and staff off guard, bringing users to reflect on their usage of TikTok and how they will move forward with or without the app.
Using TikTok mainly as a way to kill time, Reid Buer, junior, said he typically spent about 28 hours a week on the app, whether watching videos when bored, right after waking up or during class when there was nothing else to do.
Buer started using the app during the COVID pandemic when TikTok began to gain traction after its transition from Musical.ly. He said he didn’t get his first phone until 2019, so Buer didn’t have a way to access the platform prior to the transition.
When the app got banned a few hours prior to its scheduled lockdown, Buer said he was on his phone and was caught a bit off guard by the message that popped up, surprised by how the ban was implemented, but not completely surprised by the ban happening altogether.
“I knew that throughout the past few years there has always been word going around saying TikTok is going to get banned so I wasn’t surprised they were trying to ban it again,” Buer said.
When the app started working again the next morning, Buer said he was surprised the turnaround had been so fast as he thought it would take about a month or two to open the platform back up.
Buer said he believes the app will not get banned for a second time, but if it were to permanently shut down, societal trends would be affected.
“I think there would definitely be a massive shift in how people act,” Buer said. “A lot of trends, such as slang or fashion, come from TikTok, so I think if the app were to shut down, it would become a little harder to put trends out there.”
In his own life, Buer said he would be upset about the permanent ban at first, but he would be able to find better things to do.
“I think I would start spending more time on Roblox too,” Buer said.
Rob Durham, language arts teacher, began using TikTok during COVID as a way to increase viewings and followers for his comedy videos. He has been able to gain almost 4,000 followers and has had multiple videos reach millions of views.
In comparison to other social media platforms, Durham said he uses TikTok the most, but is prepared to move solely to Instagram reels if TikTok were to get permanently banned.
“It is just like how when Vine ended, we all moved to TikTok,” Durham said. “So I just am thinking everyone will move to Instagram reels.”
Moving forward in how TikTok could change in the future, Durham said he is interested in whether certain media could get edited out of TikTok videos that contradict with our current political leaders.
“There are rumors saying political views posted on TikTok that don’t agree with Trump’s views and opinions are going to be removed,” Durham said. “If we get to that point, we are truly in some sort of dystopia. All it would do is divide society more.”
Julia Donald, senior, didn’t think the government would go through with the ban because there have been rumors in years past of it happening, so she was surprised to see it gone.
“I think in the end, a lot of other apps have been shut down before, but for my lifetime this is the first time a government has come in and taken control, ” Donald said, “What I’ve heard from people is that they have to be bought by an American company, and so I feel like that change will change everything about how the app works.”
Donald said not having the app would make her a more productive person.
Because the ban was reported to be delayed due to President Donald Trump’s involvement, Donald said this will boost his popularity amongst American citizens.
According to Associated Press (AP) news, during his first term, Donald Trump led the effort to ban TikTok for being a threat to national security. But on the day of the scheduled ban, he pledged to extend the time allowed for a U.S. buyer to give an offer for TikTok.
“I think people will start to like him without doing any research on who he is as a person because this overall situation is distracting from what he has done in the past,” Donald said.