“I didn’t believe it at first, because every year around this time, people say TikTok will get banned. Usually, it doesn’t,” Khushi Patel, a first-year student at the University of Iowa, said.
Patel has been a content creator on the popular, short-form video app TikTok for the past three years.
Ranging from vlogs, mukbangs, and “get-ready-with-me” videos, Patel’s ability to make TikToks was temporarily inhibited on Jan. 19. Among the many twists and turns of the new year, the much-anticipated TikTok ban was officially instituted the night before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration.
Patel was watching videos on her phone, alongside millions of daily active users on the night of Jan. 19, when the app started to shut down. Users watched as videos slowly stopped loading before the final message was plastered across screens: The app was banned.
But a mere 14 hours later, it was reinstated.
TikTok was originally released September 2016 and quickly became a staple of Gen Z culture. Although it was not the first app with the ability to make short-form content, many people were ready to move over after Vine shut down in early 2017. Some of the app’s initial popularity was thanks to
Musical.ly after the two apps were merged.
There were not many issues with the app until 2020, when discussions with the app’s owner, ByteDance, suggested there was a potential security risk. Since it is a Chinese tech company, dozens of lawmakers discussed the potential dangers of it, which led to its eventual ban.
“To be honest, though, I didn’t care as much as I thought I would,” Patel said. “Everyone else around me used TikTok to support themselves, so they were losing a much bigger thing than I was.”
Over 59 percent of U.S. adults under 30 use the app, with more than 7 million users and businesses currently relying on the platform as a means to support themselves. The app is an encyclopedia of resources, trends, pop culture references, and more.
Other than being an avid fan of other content creators, Patel has dabbled in posting videos. She has a long and rather comedic history with TikTok.
“I don’t have much of a following, but I gained a little one a little bit in 2022 when I fell off my horse and broke a few bones,” Patel said. “I decided to film a video at the hospital, and that’s when people discovered my account. Now I have about 12,500 followers, and I get PR packages from Buldak Ramen, Arrae supplements, Pixi Beauty, and more.”
While students like Patel still have access to TikTok, some do not. UI second-year student Saranya Paturi and her friend Mia Zdionica deleted the app around a week before it was banned. Now, neither of the girls can redownload it on their phones or use the website version. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act renders all ByteDance apps unavailable in the U.S.
“I was disappointed. TikTok is the basis of all the jokes my friends and I make,” Paturi said. “When we get ready to go to a fancy dinner or have a fun night out, we spend at least 20 minutes making cute TikToks. It’s become a way to bond. Now, I can’t do that on my account.”
It’s unclear when the app will be available to download in the U.S. in the future. To compensate, people have started finding new ways to emulate the same experience of endlessly scrolling through short, quick clips.
“A lot of people moved to this app called RedNote, but I just occasionally use Instagram Reels,” Zdionica said. “Sometimes I go on my iPad if I want to watch TikTok, but I don’t feel the urge to doom-scroll nearly as much.”
The change Zdionica has seen in her screen time is a huge silver lining to the dilemma. TikTok being banned foresees a decline in doom-scrolling, “brain rot” humor, and short, continuous dopamine hits that exacerbate depression and anxiety among teens.
RELATED: Opinion | This is 2025, not 1984
Zdionica and Paturi are both pre-med students involved in various extracurricular activities. Social media sites often act as a distraction amidst their busy schedules.
“We always have something due or on our to-do list,” said Zdionica. “Every day, though, TikTok seemed to distract me from something that needed to be done.”
Another student, Karen Liu, also said the TikTok ban would help keep her from getting constantly distracted by the app. However, now that it is gone, she finds herself regretting her decision more and more.
“I had so much FOMO. I still have a lot of FOMO,” Liu said. “I’m begging my friends that have it to just go on their phone and scroll for a little bit.”
While she was mostly happy to see it go, she now wishes she had not deleted the app entirely. Liu’s main issue with not having TikTok anymore is how left out she feels. Even though there were lots of people who removed the app after it was reinstated, she still feels like there are trends she might be missing out on.
When TikTok reopened its services, Americans were greeted by a brief message. It claimed the development was “a result of President Trump’s efforts.”
Many UI students were rattled by the message. Paturi, in particular, believes there was an ulterior motive that is not entirely altruistic.
“It was strange. You don’t usually see presidents advertise themselves in this way. Apps, outlets, and that stuff are supposed to remain impartial,” Paturi said. “I don’t think he did it for the good of the nation or for ‘security reasons.’ He did it to look better, and it appeals to younger citizens.”
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order that allowed those with the app to continue scrolling. While it only pushes back the official ban for 75 days, it gives more opportunity for him and his team to look further into its security risks.
Although there are many who adore the app, this long process has left some users confused as to whether TikTok is going to stay. While many fans are eagerly waiting for the app to come back, the in-between time makes it difficult for some of those who deleted it.
Currently, there are still no promises of the app’s return. Although Trump’s recent claims have made it sound like he is beginning to lean more toward keeping the app, he still states he wants to find a way to remove it from its parent tech company. No one is sure what exactly the future holds for TikTok.
On Jan. 20, when he signed the executive order, Trump claimed he did not see the harm that he once believed the app posed. As it is known, the app is mostly inhabited by a younger demographic of users, which seems to make it less dangerous.
With there still being debates behind the scenes as to what will come of the app, some people do not have high hopes.
“I really hope it fails,” Liu said.