TikTok is a staple of many Staples High School students’ lives. During the recent debate over its possible shutdown in the US, “06880” interns Avni Krishna and Camille Blundell set out to explore the app, and its hold on Westport teenagers. They write:
With over 1.582 billion users worldwide, TikTok stood to lose a whopping 170 million from its American audience when the Supreme Court upheld a ban on the beloved app.
Of that 170 million, 63% are ages 13-17. This large following meant the ban would be severely felt in communities of teens, both on TikTok and in real life.
Not only was it used as a creative and entertainment outlet for many, but it was also a place where community and like-minded individuals could find one another.
There was an initial shock, as teens opened their app and found it unscrollable. But the grief was rescinded in less than 12 hours.
What did they do during the half-day period of dopamine withdrawals? For many teens, the ban meant going onto other popular apps that had implemented a TikTok-like feature of short-form content in a scrollable algorithm.
Yet whether it was YouTube shorts, Rednote, Instagram reels, or even picking up a book, teens yearned for their familiar app.
When the app returned, many saw noticeable differences with their “For You” pages. First, users were greeted with a message stating, “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”
This raised alarm bells, as a government and president’s involvement in an app regarding free speech can get complicated.
Users pointed out that political content was being censored, and artists and editors found it harder to meet the app’s harsh creation guidelines.
For many young people, this created a sense of dread. On one hand, the app that has been a staple in many Gen-Zers’ lives was back. On the other hand, the worries of creative and political censorship caused many to feel conflicted about their app use.
To learn more about youth’s perspective on the ban, we talked to 2 Staples students, senior Mia Bomback (who had a TikTok video go viral of her acceptance to Dartmouth) and sophomore Charlotte Brookebanks.
Click below to hear their thoughts:
