The TikTok Ban Saga

Addison Jones

The death and resurrection of TikTok stirred chaos and relief among users in only 14 hours.

The famous social media app was set for the chopping block on January 19, but this wasn’t the first time TikTok had its neck out for a ban.

TikTok’s ban timeline dates to August 2020 when Donald Trump, the current president at the time, attempted to force TikTok to sell itself to a US company for data reasons undisclosed (Habesian). Things wouldn’t kick into gear until President Biden signed the TikTok Ban Bill in April of 2024 (Habesian). The bill held up, right to the moment of the ban.

From there, users’ reactions were off the charts. Tears, panic, job loss, and sheer terror arose. Until the app miraculously came back like it never left. Memes circulated, accounts were recovered, and the world was set right again.

To say it was the craziest 14 hours in internet history is an understatement. College students experienced firsthand the shock of the ban on TikTok.

They rely on TikTok for entertainment when not doing classwork, sports, or simple socialization. Having that taken away gave them withdrawals—they still found themselves clicking on the app, unaware of the fact it was gone.

Many would describe TikTok as a drug that users have become addicted to. This addiction became apparent when it was shut down.

Gracelyn Lovejoy, a student here at Simpson University, had a personal reason for not wanting to let TikTok go.

“I was sad cause I almost had a 200-day streak with one of my friends, and I wanted to see the next flame change at 200,” Lovejoy said.

Lovejoy also saw a benefit to the ban on TikTok for her education.

“I was also excited for my productivity to go up and not doom scroll,” Lovejoy said.

Thankfully, TikTok came back--doom scrolling carried on. While many people were saddened by the TikTok ban, Evelyn Anderson wasn’t affected.

Anderson, a student at Simpson University, has never downloaded TikTok, keeping strictly to Instagram. Her thoughts on the ban may come as a surprise to others.

“I was impressed that our government would do that because so many people rely on it for daily entertainment. And I knew it would have a cultural impact,” Anderson said. “While it’s a great tool for easy entertainment and decompressing, I feel it’s overused. People waste a lot of time on it”

TikTok is famous for the hours given to it.. No ban will come between that. Although the ban didn’t affect some on a personal level, others thought differently.

Raynija Casseus, a student at Simpson University, sympathized with people who make their income off TikTok.

“I was kind of thinking about if they take it away [TikTok], what about the people that actually make a living off of it? What are they going to do now?” Cassesus said.

TikTok has put rooves over people’s heads, dinner on the table, and gas money for college students. Being cut off from your income in an instant is a devastation. Job searching probably increased right as TikTok went dark.

This will go down in internet history for sure. Reactions of TikTok banned and unbanned will fuel memes for the next couple of months. People who didn’t care in the first place still don’t. And now, no tears need to be shed over a social media favorite.

TikTok is integrated into history now. Callum Booth says perfectly, “We live in a data age, a time where we’re constantly exposed to a wide range of stimuli and material.” Social media is constantly changing the framework of the internet. It seems no ban can stand in its way.

It’s hard to say how long TikTok is safe for. So until then, enjoy the brain rot while you can.

Sources

Habeshian, Sareen. TikTok ban timeline: Here’s where things stand, Axios. 13th January, 2025. https://www.axios.com/2025/01/13/tiktok-ban-timeline

Booth, Callum. TikTok Is Banned Then Unbanned: How The Internet Reacted, Forbes. 20th January 2025. https://www.forbes.com/sites/callumbooth/2025/01/20/tiktok-is-banned-then-unbanned-how-the-internet-reacted/