For the Gen Z crowd, during and after a long day filled with life’s chores, the custom is to get a hit of dopamine. From a screen.
The dopamine consumes them. While letting them starve. Watching them crash and collapse. The app goes black. The message that created chaos.
A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.
Users were closing and then reopening the app due to habit. Content creators were crashing out while content consumers were bored — yet determined to find an alternative app in order to keep sane. For the night.
On Jan. 19, TikTok left many of its 170 million users distraught when access to the popular social media app was shut off. Those who were in doubt the rumored ban would happen found themselves in disbelief when it was actually happening.
The following message came about 12 hours later:
Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.
Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 to put a 75-day pause on the banning of the app that introduced America to The Renegade.
Many are considering it a political PR stunt. It’s Trump’s way of starting his presidency by getting in good graces with young voters.
“I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available in the United States,” said Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok.
During his first term, President Trump was adamant about banning TikTok. He alleged the Chinese government utilized the app to collect data on the American populace. That was the focus behind the decision to ban TikTok on Jan. 19 unless it was sold to an American company. Tiktok is still in the hands of the Chinese government, yet the ban has been lifted.
The company that owns TikTok is ByteDance, a Chinese technology company that mainly focuses on video-sharing and social networking apps. TikTok was originally known as Musically, an app where users gained popularity by lip-synching and dancing to songs. Musically was initially released in August 2014 and was renamed TikTok in September 2018.
TikTok being brand new with a similar concept created a platform for this generation to thrive on. Creators get to share what they love with fans who share the same interests and get paid for it. To join their creator fund you must have 10,000 followers and post consistently to gain $2.25 per view. This is not a lot until they gain opportunities like no other such as interviewing on a red carpet or joining broadway. Banning an app this popular puts some up-and-coming creators and their “dream careers” on hold, while established influencers such as Charli D’amelio are set for life.
Everyone is on their toes, speculating who is going to save TikTok. Will it be Frank McCourt, Kevin O’Leary or Mr. Beast, all of whom made career breakthroughs on TikTok? If it does not get sold, it might be gone forever for U.S. Citizens. It’s already been removed from app stores. Users who deleted the app as soon as it was shut down are now unable to re-download TikTok and resume using it. Used phones with the app already installed are being sold at marked-up prices online.
The alternatives will be Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and Red Note — the new Chinese app similar to TikTok. With the fear of TikTok getting banned, Red Note gained more than 700,000 users. Some even learned Mandarin to understand the app.
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Top Illustration: TikTok users were stunned to see the app shut down. They’ve got it back for 75 days. Will it stay? (Photo courtesy of Envato Elements)
Sydney Breckenridge is a staff writer for The Express. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @SydBreckenridge.
