Hey South High TikTok users–luckily you have 75 more days before your favorite app could be gone. For those who don’t know, President Donald Trump extended TikTok’s existence in the U.S. for the second time this past Saturday. The last time this happened, the app got completely wiped off the App Store for 14 hours.
On Jan. 18 TikTok was banned for all users in the United States. Over the 14 hours TikTok was banned, people all over the country waited in suspense, wondering if their favorite app was going to come back.
All 135 million U.S. TikTok users reacted to this ban in many different ways. Some went to Instagram Reels, some read a book, some used the time to do chores around the house and be overall more productive.
Freshman TikTok user Estella Tochtrop talked about how often she uses the app.
“Usually on school days the most I will spend is an hour. But on weekends I’ll sometimes spend like five hours, honestly,” she said.
According to the most recent data, the average TikTok user spends about 95 minutes per day on the app, but the average child spends about 120 minutes.
Many adults think TikTok can be very addicting, especially for kids who don’t know how to regulate themselves.
“I think it is something that they could learn to use less. And I think it affects, sort of their mood and how they think of themselves,” English teacher Nicole Daniels said. “I do think there are downsides to it, but I don’t inherently dislike the app.”
The app is used in different ways for many people. Some people’s jobs revolve around TikTok, and others just have the app to make fun videos with their friends.
“For me, I use TikTok as a video memory book for my kids, so like, I actually post on TikTok,” FACS teacher Ashley Winslow said. “My kids love making and editing videos on TikTok, it’s a great way for them to use their creativity.”
When it comes to younger kids using the app, parents have many different opinions on how to regulate their kids’ usage of the app.
“I allow my kids to be on TikTok, and I have a 10 and 12 year old,” Winslow said. “You can be on it for a little bit, but you also need to be able to do other things in your life.”
In December of 2024, it was announced that TikTok would most likely be getting banned in The United States sometime in January. Most people didn’t know what to make of this, considering the fact that every year a rumor goes around that the app will be getting banned. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has faced many struggles throughout the years. Including multiple court trials and even meetings with members of Congress.
“People had said that TikTok was going to get banned, then it never came. But then it finally came, and I was like what?” Tochtrop said.
Many Americans were shocked when the ban actually went through, but most were even more shocked when the app was back less than a day later.
Even though TikTok is back for now, it is still a possibility that it will be banned in 75 days if ByteDance doesn’t sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company. Rumors have persisted that companies like Amazon and Walmart are interested in buying the app, but ByteDance is apparently hesitant to sell the TikTok algorithm, which is the most valuable piece of the company.
“I’m a little worried about it being banned, but I’m also not going to worry,” Winslow said.
As of now, the fate of TikTok is in the hands of our government. So all we can do is wait to see what happens to one of America’s favorite apps.
“I think it should be banned, but I don’t want it to be banned,” freshman Claire Courtney said.
