The loss of TikTok took an entire generation by storm. For twelve hours on MLK weekend, members of Generation Z went quiet. Many mourned, remembering their beloved app. But just twelve hours later, it was as though the app’s demise had never happened.
On Jan. 18 at approximately 10 p.m. EST, TikTok users were greeted with a message:
“Sorry TikTok is not available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” proclaimed a banner in the app.
TikTok had been officially banned in the United States after a long and tempestuous relationship with the United States government.
TikTok is the social media app of choice for many members of Gen Z. Formally known Musical.ly, the app truly gained traction during the pandemic, with young people flocking to its infinite supply of short-form videos as a way to connect during a time of forced separation. The quick videos offered something different from the traditional photos on Instagram or long videos on YouTube.
For many members of Gen Z, the ban seemed like an impossibility. Congress passed a law forcing the app’s sale from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance in April 2024 for national security reasons, but Tiktok operated as normal.
“I totally didn’t think it was going to happen. There was no way for it to be actually real,” said Zoe Taratas, first-year INTA.
But, in January, the Supreme Court upheld the ban, and no amount of outrage or anger was going to change the new policy. For TikTok lovers, the majority of whom are younger than 30, it felt like old vs. young and government vs. the people.
Before the ban, the popularity of TikTok’s short-form content led other companies like Instagram and YouTube to copy the business model on their own apps. However, these apps couldn’t overtake TikTok’s enormous market share. That is, until the government shut the app down. TikTok stars and users flocked to competitors — specifically Instagram Reels — in an effort to recapture the magic of what had been their social media home for years.
“I switched to Instagram Reels during the hours it was banned. I even swapped the locations of the apps on my phone,” Taratsas said.
Instagram Reels’ time in the sun was quite short-lived. TikTok came back online for American users just hours after it was banned when President Donald Trump announced that he would sign an executive order delaying the law.
“When TikTok came back, I started using it again. I still use Instagram Reels, though,” Taratsas said.
Reels may have a similar content form to TikToks, but users say the subject matter and feel of the platforms are not the same.
“I use both because they are very different. Reels are funnier, but TikTok is more specific to me,” Taratsas said.
This is not to say that TikTok came out of the ban unscathed. Users’ perceptions of the app and its competitors changed, and Apple and Google have still not added it back to their respective app stores.
“It made me realize that I rely on the app a little too much. I would press it out of muscle memory, which isn’t great,” Taratsas said.
Going into the ban, many users of TikTok expressed feelings online that the ban might improve their lives by removing an addictive pull from their devices. The Technique asked Taratsas if she would make any changes to her life from the ban.
“I’m trying to use it less. I want to be less reliant on it. It distracts me a lot from my life with things like academics and friends,” Taratsas said. “I could delete it off my phone, but with the ban, I might never get it back, which makes me want to keep it.”
With TikTok back online, it seems some people’s wish to become more productive might have been granted. People who have deleted the app before the ban are unable to re-download it, forcibly unplugging them from their self-proclaimed addiction.
While the TikTok ban only lasted for a few hours, its effects on some of its users will not be. While some students continued like it never happened — back to the endless scrolling and perfect algorithms — others have been forced to learn to live a life TikTokless.