Written By: Allurabella Chandler, Staff Writer
PANIC: The terror of having one of the most popular and controversial apps of all time banned in the United States is causing many to speak up.
With the recent “rumor” of the ban of TikTok in the United States, many people are panicking. It is going to be banned on January 19th, 2025, but this ban has already been postponed by over 200 days, to the relief of many. TikTok has affected students’ school and personal life, and everyone knows that most teenagers are having a hard time letting it go. But what is really on their mind with this huge upcoming event?
A majority of students around campus have been heavily influenced by TikTok, whether for better of for worse. Many have picked up habits and trends from this highly addictive app. A lot of the influences of TikTok have shown themselves to have impacted many students in a very negative way as well. Taking up a hefty amount of your day whilst endlessly scrolling through social media apps such as TikTok has made students less productive and less willing to complete their work. It often leads to students losing sleep or suffering from mental health issues, both of these happening much more often than you may think.
Even though the negative sides of these extremely popular social media apps can be very overwhelming, we have had many students say that TikTok has helped them in more positive ways than negative. Seth Rich Neal (11) states, “there are many teachers and students on TikTok that can help with unanswered questions that a lot of people are looking for.” Along with stating that he would be extremely upset if TikTok were to be banned, as he relies on that app for a great amount of things, as many students do. There are a lot of content creators that rely on social media platforms such as TikTok for a steady income, and getting rid of this platform can lead to huge loss in many people’s lives. With the threat of TikTok being banned, students are spending a lot more time on the app in this “time of crisis,” as they believe they do not have much time left on the app.
Some seek education through these short videos, and others seek peace of mind. Many believe that there is no reason to ban TikTok, as it is more helpful than bad, but as you can see, there are still many arguments circulating around as of recently. Whether or not TikTok does get banned is still being decided, but whatever the outcome might be, there might still be quite the ongoing controversy for many years to come.