TikTok, a popular video-hosting service, was put under a nationwide ban in the United States on January 18th. Although the app was restored the next day, the ban had a lasting impact. In anticipation of the ban, many “TikTokers” reunited with old friends, exposed their secrets, and became very distressed. Considering the app is most popular among today’s generation of teenagers, this ban elicited an enormous emotional response within the majority of Gen Z, including those at Old Saybrook High School. Whether students mourned the loss of TikTok or were in favor of its ban, OSHS has many opinions on this monumental event.
Rumors about why TikTok got banned were flourishing in and out of the app. Amongst the many different opinions, TikTok conclusively got banned because of national security concerns. Worries about outside sources “stealing” data from U.S TikTok users had an extreme impact on U.S. lawmakers, and ultimately the app was banned. Because of a major upset, the ban was pushed back 75 days, which will take us to April 4th, 2025. Although it’s unclear what will happen to the beloved app then, we can cherish these last couple months until it’s potentially gone for good.
Students and staff at OSHS have had mixed feelings about the ban. Senior Carlos Velez said, “I was sad because I would watch TikTok in my free time, but it was only banned for one day so it’s okay.” Similarly, junior Shelby Pauloski shared, “I was really upset about it and I downloaded all of my old Tiktoks because I was scared of losing the memories I created on this app since 2018.” TikTok has been an outlet for many people, and like Shelby, we have shared many memories on the app. Losing all of those memories was nothing short of a tragedy.
On the contrary, sophomore Ella Read has a different feeling over the loss of the app, “The ban had a positive impact on me because it made me want to try to create a new routine without TikTok.” Ella raises a valid point, as the dependency so many teenagers have on TikTok is evident, especially since this ban. Despite the initial sorrow, we ourselves were looking forward to a healthier lifestyle without this app that feeds into so much of our screen time. Ms. Courtright adds, “I didn’t really care about the TikTok ban because I just went to Instagram reels.” Instagram reels is a very similar platform to TikTok. However, Instagram gives you the option to post pictures and watch videos. Despite the similarities, there are a ton of features TikTok has that Instagram doesn’t, which had people searching for something that would fulfill the excitement of TikTok proving the need for social media, and ultimately had people resorting to outside apps.
A few individuals deleted the app as soon as it got banned, which at the time seemed like a good idea but quickly backfired. Those who removed TikTok from their phone were unable to re-download it after its return because it did not come back on the App Store after its ban. Senior Vince Bibisi was one of these people and he said, “I deleted it because it got banned and I didn’t think it’d get unbanned. Now, it doesn’t really bother me but at the time I was very angry because it got unbanned in like a day which I thought was dumb.”
This ban proved to us how much of an influence TikTok has on the daily lives of teenagers, including our own Rams. Despite the many different opinions on the ban, good and bad, the quick return was a pleasant surprise to most students at OSHS, and has us hoping for a permanent stay.
