On January 19th, 2025, TikTok was banned in America and removed from the app store. After about 12 hours, servers rose back up, but the app is still off the store. With TikTok’s timely return, some have debated the app’s potential positive and negative impacts on its users.
One of the pros of the TikTok ban would be reducing screen time. After asking 65 random students from around Northwest High School, the average daily screen time on TikTok is around three hours. While there are ways to limit screen time on TikTok, including the one-hour limit it automatically sets for users ages 13-17, many people don’t use or know about them, or the limiter is easily ignorable and easy to get around.
While banning TikTok could reduce screen time, it would also cut off many people’s communication, including marketing, politics, podcasts, and news. However, TikTok has also been used to make friends, share funny videos, and socialize. Although it may not be face-to-face socialization, it’s still a great way to meet people who like the same things or find communities filled with support and kindness.
“I’ve found multiple communities in TikTok…All of the groups have helped me feel more normal and not like such a failure, alongside giving me an idea and goal for my future,” said Senior Kesley Clark
TikTok is a way for people to show their creativity and thrive.
Banning TikTok would also help decrease cyberbullying, while TikTok does have measures such as community guidelines and ways to customize your profile in place to reduce cyberbullying and harmful content from being distributed on the app, it does not always catch everything or the bullying does not get reported so the TikTok moderation team is not able to review the content to remove it.
Even if banning TikTok could decrease cyberbullying TikTok’s platform has helped many people spread awareness for diseases, crises, mental health, or physical health. It’s not only diseases the TikTok platform spreads awareness of but also the struggles some people with disabilities have with day-to-day life that many people don’t think about. A few creators who share their struggles or help inform people of disabilities are @spencer2thewest, @saratoddhammer, and @kimberlyrhoades112. It’s not just physical disabilities that TikTok helps spread awareness for but hidden disabilities as well, such as Postural tachycardia syndrome also known as POTS, hard of hearing, autism, and more.
Influence can be as much a problem as it is a benefit. Many people see things on TikTok and are influenced to copy them, and some of these trends can lead to serious injuries or harm people’s mental health, even if it does not seem like it. Many people believe that some TikTok trends, such as Freshman Ashlynn Stewart, can be dangerous.
“100 percent there are a lot of TikTok trends that are dangerous, I remember the Tide Pod trend…Definitely, trends could be dangerous.” Said Stewart.
Some of these trends involve the bezzin, dragon’s breath, and cinnamon challenges, these challenges include putting Bert’s Bee’s chapstick around the eyes, Eating food that’s been put in liquid nitrogen which can be unsafe if done wrong, and eating a spoonful of cinnamon. All of these challenges could or have harmed the individual doing the challenge.
Banning TikTok could harm more people than some of those challenges A multitude of people make their livings through TikTok, whether it be from promoting their small business or making content. Influencers use TikTok to promote their small businesses, or big corporations like Pepsi, Duolingo, and Netflix. Even the Moxie Mountie has a TikTok page to promote our paper and website. TikTok has helped people earn money for surgeries or other medical care that they need, but can’t afford. Many people use TikTok as a second job or a way to earn money doing what they love and be able to turn their passions into work. The TikTok ban may have pros, but there is also a con for every pro. TikTok has been an amazing platform for sharing its creativity and content and helping spread awareness to others; it is up to the government to decide if TikTok is off the clock.
