Where Were You During the Tiktok Ban?

Originally titled Music.ly, Tiktok was bought in 2017 by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company, and was later rebranded to the TikTok users know today. The video sharing app first became popular in the United States in 2019. Fast forward a few years: students all across the globe indulge in hundreds of addictive short-form videos presented on the app each day. Presently, with an ever changing political and social scene, TikTok has become a way to express and educate oneself through videos.

 Students around the world adore the app, including students of Stuyvesant. “I use tiktok pretty often, like every day,” expressed junior Eleanor Aranda in an email interview. TikTok is part of students’ lives, often providing a break from reality.

However, there has recently been emotional turmoil among students regarding TikTok—caused by a proposed ban from the US government. The idea of a TikTok ban is not wholly unfamiliar; in 2020, TikTok was nearly banned in the United States due to the signing of an executive order by Donald Trump in response to the United States’ national security concerns. Despite initial concerns, the attempt did not come into fruition, and TikTok users returned with full force. Ultimately, the legal case was postponed by Joe Biden after entering office, and eventually dropped. Throughout this time, TikTok only boomed in popularity, especially due to the pandemic: students experiencing boredom in quarantine turned to TikTok for entertainment. During 2020 alone, the number of downloads the app received increased by about 2.2 billion. Over time, the feeling of immediate threat dissolved, and the beloved TikTok was back.

Unfortunately, this feeling only lasted a short while. Following a Congressional battle, ByteDance announced that TikTok would be banned in the United States starting January 19, 2025. This news, which shocked both the United States and the students of Stuyvesant, provoked a flurry of sadness and worry. Leading up to the day of the ban, Aranda shared, “I felt sad and resigned, TikTok takes up a solid chunk of my time and my life so the thought of it really being gone forever was a little sad.”

On January 19th, Tiktok was banned in the United States for around 14 hours. According to President Trump, this was a way of protecting the United States’ privacy and data from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).  This event seemed to affect many students at Stuyvesant, including freshman Jenny Dong. “During the hours when it was banned, I was very bored. I informed all my friends about it, then I had to resort to Instagram reels and YouTube shorts,” Dong recalled.

Freshman Cindy Zhuo also had an intense reaction to the app’s disappearance. “When TikTok was banned, I felt a part of me collapse. All the memories and funny videos I watched are now going to be gone. After TikTok was banned, I went outside and appreciated the air I was breathing for the first time in forever. But, I was DYING inside without TikTok,” Zhuo stated in an email interview. Students felt that a crucial part of them were missing; namely, the place in their hearts that TikTok once filled. 

Despite the distress of many students, others did not mind the TikTok ban. “I was kind of looking forward to the ban to be honest, I think I would probably be a lot more productive and creative without TikTok,” Aranda described. 

Other students felt similarly due to TikTok’s addictive nature, with the app being one of the biggest reasons for students’ soaring screen times. Many have reported that once they downloaded TikTok, their screen time increased by several hours a week. It is also the leading factor for procrastination. TikTok has become an obstacle for many students when trying to get homework done, study for tests, or simply accomplish everyday tasks. The TikTok ban was an escape for students who were trying to break free from their bad habits and enhance their productivity.

Despite truly loving TikTok, Zhuo agreed that the ban had some positive effects. “I think the short ban was a positive impact as it allowed me to regain consciousness of nature and appreciate my surroundings,” described Zhuo. Many students have not been able to appreciate their surroundings and get a sense of fresh air due to the constant use of social media. However, through the ban, students used their newfound free time doing something productive and healthy. The ban limited distractions and helped students focus on friends, family, and school. 

Even before the app had been banned, there was talk of replacing TikTok with different platforms. The most popular among them was RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, which translates to “Little Red Book.” RedNote was created in 2013 by a Shanghai-based company called Xingyin Information Technology. As a form of retaliation against the government of the United States, American citizens agreed to replace TikTok, an app that threatened national security because of its Chinese origin, with RedNote, another app of the same origin. “I didn't use the RedNote app. However, I think it was positive as it allowed for American users to connect with people of Chinese ethnicity,” Zhuo said. 

Following this, multiple students shifted gears to Instagram, RedNote, and other social media apps. “A few days before the ban, I had been using Instagram instead,” freshman Isabella Wong shared. Students like Wong used these platforms to share their grief over TikTok being banned.

Despite the stress users endured, TikTok was ultimately banned for only 12-14 hours. This was truly a miracle for many, and a wave of happiness arrived after TikTok was unbanned. Students were able to shift back to one of their most beloved apps, but the threat of it being banned again still lingers. As for the question of whether the ban was necessary or not, Wong said, “The ban was a stupid thing to do. Considering the fact that people moved to other apps, there wasn’t any reason to ban TikTok.” The ban seemed unconsequential, as with one click of a finger, students had the ability to transfer to multiple other social media apps.

The temporary ban of TikTok may seem insignificant to older generations, but TikTok is pivotal to young people, serving as a news source, a form of entertainment, and even just a way to meet new people. However, because it had so much to offer, students often depend too much on the app, becoming overly attached. The ban showed the level of reliance students can have on social media and how a ban can feel like the end of the world. Nevertheless, to the joy of many students, at least for now, the world can return to enjoying their favorite app.