More than 150 million Americans — almost half of the country’s population — use TikTok, a popular social media platform known for its short-form video content. A large portion of the app’s users are teenagers, including Lowell students. Tiktok is used for many reasons, ranging from entertainment to business. But recently, Lowell students and users across America have been forced to consider what a life without TikTok would look like.

On April 24th, 2024, President Biden signed a bill that would require ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to either sell TikTok or stop offering its services in the United States by January 29th. Although the company challenged the law in court, the Supreme Court upheld the legislation. The TikTok ban stems from the concerns of bipartisan legislators, who worry that, because ByteDance is a Chinese company and subject to Chinese jurisdiction, the Chinese government could gain sensitive information about U.S. users from the app, like their location, or use the algorithm to promote misinformation or propaganda to them. 

Although the ban wasn’t set to go into effect until Sunday, January 19th, users who opened the app on the evening of the 18th found it inaccessible, with a message stating: “TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.” The message went on to say, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” Only 12 hours later, the app came back online for US users, crediting the soon-to-be president for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers” in a statement on X. 

Despite these events, the fate of the app is still unclear. President Trump, who was sworn in on Monday, January 20th for his second term in office, issued an executive order to extend the grace period of the ban for 90 days before the ban takes place. Although Trump had been a leading figure in the effort to ban TikTok during his first term, he has said that he hopes to find a solution that works for both the company and American national security. However, if the incoming administration does not come to a satisfactory deal with TikTok and get them to sell the app to an American buyer, the federal government could reinstate the ban, and the app may go offline again. 

As of now, TikTok is accessible on American citizens’ phones. Although many are back on the app, it can no longer be downloaded through the App Store. Therefore, those who deleted it off their phones during or after the 12-hour ban are unable to redownload it. Desperate people have searched for different methods to return the app to their phones. A simple VPN change was rumored to fix the problem, but did not. Some are bringing out old phones that still have the app on it, and many are selling these phones for multiple thousand dollars. 

As Lowell students and teachers grapple with the possibility of a permanent TikTok ban, they face conflicting thoughts about the consequences it may bring. Some expect to mourn the loss of a platform that has brought entertainment and community to millions of Americans, while others think that a ban is the right government decision in light of growing worries about Chinese foreign influence and data collection. 

Student users of TikTok have had different reactions to a possible ban. Sophomore Suhki Bedi deleted the app after it was reinstated, hoping to break her bad habits of procrastination and high screen time, which TikTok encouraged. So far, it has worked. According to Bedi, her screen time has dropped two hours on average since deleting the app, and she has reduced her habit of procrastination. Junior Asher Barolette has had Tiktok for six years, and uses it on average an hour a day. He feels that a ban would leave him with less entertainment in his daily life. “I would be a little bit more bored,” Barolette said. “I would have less content to watch.” 

Lowell students have varying opinions about the validity of the TikTok ban. Although she feels as though the app does not personally benefit her, Bedi thinks that the ban is a violation of free speech. In contrast, Barolette feels that the ban is justified, and perhaps necessary. While he is not worried about foreign entities collecting his personal data, Barolette does think that the U.S. government should be worried about the collection of American data by foreign governments, and that it should regulate the collection of data by foreign companies. He also expressed concerns about the app’s effects on individuals. “I think that it’s bad for people’s attention spans,” Barolette said. “It’s done more harm than good.” 

Anjana Amirapu, a biology teacher at Lowell, believes that the ban may be a good idea, despite the controversy of the decision. She emphasized the importance of knowing where your data is stored and how it is used, expressing unease about the use of American data, especially that of minors, by foreign companies and countries — a worry that is shared by the senators and representatives that wrote and passed the bill to ban TikTok. While she recognizes that many U.S.-based social media companies, such as Meta, also store user data, Amirapu feels that American citizens using these companies can feel more secure about where their data is being stored, who has access to it, and what they can use it for. “I think the fact that TikTok isn’t a U.S.-based company that we can easily legislate makes it difficult to know where your data is being stored,” Amirapu said. “I think a lot of students kind of enjoy it and get distracted by [TikTok], but they’re not thinking of the bigger questions of, ‘who is using my data?’”

Although she’s not a TikTok user, Amirapu acknowledges that it can hold merit for students that rely on the app for income or connection. She has had students show her videos from TikTok that relate to biology and improve their understanding of the subject. Similarly, Bedi said she often used the app to find helpful videos. Amirapu believes that the loss of such interaction is sad, but not long-lasting. “I do think, in a way, that finding a different source of information or connection will be lost,” Amirapu said, “But I know that teenagers are creative, they’re smart, [and] they’ll find a different social media platform that they can use.”

However, many students feel that different social media platforms, like Instagram and YouTube, don’t possess the same engaging qualities as TikTok. Since deleting the app, Bedi has used Instagram Reels, but says that they’re not as addictive as TikTok, and that the algorithm is not as effective. Barolette said that, although alternative apps may fill the entertainment gap left by TikTok if it is banned, these apps don’t foster the same feeling of community as TikTok does.