As most know, TikTok is a social media platform where creators from all over the world can create and post fun videos to express themselves and entertain viewers. Unfortunately, this all went away for American citizens on January 19th, 2025. While the app returned shortly after 12 hours, it was still a detrimental time for many.  

Creators can be part of something called the creator fund, which means they can post videos and make money from them based on views, likes, and comments. These creators who are part of the creator fund that grew their business or solely posted to TikTok as their form of employment feared for their livelihood. The ban in action raised anxiety levels for these successful creators.  

Not only did this ban affect the creators, but it also affected the viewers. The average time viewers spend on TikTok is about 95 minutes a day globally, which is a big chunk of these viewers these days. Some use TikTok as a way to distance themselves from the real world, giving them time to distress, while others use it as a time filler for their boring days. For some, TikTok is the only reason they smile or laugh in a day.  

While TikTok could and most likely is selling their subscriber’s information to China they are not the only popular app doing so and as a lot of viewers have said “they don’t care about their data”. While their lack of fear for this may be because of lack of education it could also be because viewers and creators genuinely would rather use the app and enjoy it then fear that China could be collecting possibly harmful data. Many other popular American apps like Meta and Google. There have been no active bans or conversations on the deadliness of these apps by the administration therefore, citizens view it as unfair to ban something so popular like TikTok due to harmful data leaks, but they have not acted on these other potentially “harmful” apps. Knowing this many citizens have expressed that they feel something deeper is going on here. 

With Trump being newly inducted into office, he pledged to the TikTok community that he would fight for the app to be safely available to US citizens. While he signed the executive order for TikTok to return it is still in question if TikTok will be available to American subscribers for long. This community hopes this form of social media will not be taken away from them as it is a form of expression and employment for the viewers and creators. 

While TikTok was down many subscribers tried to find a different source of media to fill the void TikTok has lost. The main 3 social media platforms that went to were Triller, Instagram reels, and RedNote. While all of these platforms are great forms of social media, users say they do not compare to TikTok. Triller has a lack of popular creators and is not as modern as TikTok. Instagram reels have the content, quality, and creators but lack the intricate algorithm TikTok provides. Additionally, RedNote, also knowns as Xiaohongshu, is a Chinese-owned and operated social media app very similar to TikTok however, it lacks the English language. Since most TikTok viewers do not speak Mandarin, it was not a successful or satisfying switch for most TikTok users. 

TikTok is an ultra-popular social media app that is extremely successful and loved by many American citizens. If it is officially banned in America without more information, then negative and possibly harmful controversy will arise from all users.