Axiety, fear, and an impending sense of boredom were among the most widely felt sentiments on January 18, 2025. Content creators, businesses, students, and the general public braced themselves for a period of grieving as the lights of their For You Pages were dimmed with a message declaring that “a law banning TikTok [had] been enacted in the U.S.” Teenagers and students make up a large part of TikTok’s American consumer base, and there is no doubt that Willow Glen High School is semi-addicted. The prohibition has since been lifted, and the WGHS community is reflecting on the benefits and drawbacks of the app and the ban.
One of the main concerns regarding the TikTok ban was the loss of connection with others. This app allowed people, especially teenagers, to connect with each other. If followers were mutual friends, then they were able to directly message each other, giving a place for new and existing friends to send videos and talk. With so many people that were on TikTok, it was very easy to find commonalities with others. Mia Cloern (‘25), who usually posted videos of her outfits, described that she has “met an online friend in New York after 3 years.” By expressing herself on TikTok, Cloern was able to meet new people, which allowed her to make friends in different states. The possibility that this social media app will be shut down in the U.S. brings concern about meeting others and making friends, specifically people who don’t live close by.
Cloern believes that TikTok’s sudden return and the inescapable pop-up message thanking now-President Donald Trump for his participation in reversing the ban was a “ploy to make Trump look good.” Her sentiment is shared by many returning to the application on January 19, the day before the 47th President’s inauguration. Leading up to the ban, rumors circulated regarding a possible sale of TikTok from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to the American conglomerate Meta Platforms Inc., whose main shareholder and CEO is billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. According to a press release from the House of Representatives’ Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, the bill “prevents app store availability or web hosting services in the U.S. for [TikTok]” due to national security concerns. As President Trump has made his affinity for tech billionaires and dislike for communism both very public, the sale to Meta did not seem out of reach. However, given that Trump was not yet president when the app was restored for U.S. users, concerns arose regarding dubious conduct behind the scenes and CEO involvement in a primarily political action.
The app represents an interesting evolution in social media consumption. “TikTok sucks you in… you can get stuck on your phone,” says Grace Marshall (‘25). Despite this, the app does offer a window back in time and a way to “remember who I am and what I liked,” says John Old, the WGHS AP Computer Sciences teacher. Despite this, Mr. Old is “[amazed] to hear students normalize the idea that it’s okay to be on TikTok for 4 hours a day.” He poses the question: “What are they consuming for 4 hours a day?” When Instagram, now owned by Meta Platforms, was founded 14.5 years ago, the app was used to find inspiration and connect with friends. Now, TikTok users spend hours scrolling, not able to recall what exactly they watched. Users offer up valuable information about themselves, causing in part the security concerns that initiated the ban. The doom-scrolling phenomenon causes privacy concerns, which in turn causes political unrest. The cycle seems never-ending and is an accurate reflection of how dependent our communities have become on constant media consumption.
The TikTok ban and the discourse it spawned all reflect deepened involvement on behalf of the government on media produced for the general public. In turn, these developments demonstrate new attitudes towards community, media, and consumption.