In December, Vox writer Rebecca Jennings, in a piece about Luigi Mangione and the “black genocide” of America — which leads to disillusionment — described a general lethargy: “All segments of Americans seem increasingly to be They see nihilism… They are discouraged about the economy and pessimistic about climate change, the dating market, and their own circumstances. They are losing faith in all major US institutions, from the public school system to the police department, the military, unions, organized religion, and of course the media.
This sentiment could also describe much of the attitude towards social media platforms in 2025. X, once considered the town square of the internet, is plagued with trolls, hate speech and bad ads. Apparently following in the footsteps of X and Elon Musk, Meta is retreating from fact-checking and protecting hate speech on Facebook and Instagram at breakneck speed. Social platforms are becoming more toxic for their users as a handful of very rich and powerful men grapple with their insecurities about masculinity and free speech.
In comparison, TikTok was not just another social platform. It was personal, even useful. I have been an avid TikToker for years. It’s the platform that taught me recipes, curly hair care, how to find funding, art tutorials, workout routines, plant care, and more. It has had a more materially positive impact on my life than any other platform, a sentiment shared by many US users. Is this personal influence more important than listening to dry government explanations about foreign influence? Just ask the TikTokers who are now learning Mandarin while migrating to RedNote.
Other TikTok users are spending the final days of the program saying goodbye. “To my Chinese spy watching me on the phone, I’m going to miss you,” says one of them. The show’s final times are filled with creators asking their audience to follow them elsewhere, while using the last few seconds to dive into their country and its efforts to ban a show when there are much bigger problems at hand. they do “Damn national security risk?” user Brian Andrews says in a video with 27 million views. “Yeah damn right.”
We’re long past the days where TikTok was just an app where people posted lip syncs and dance moves. Today it is a powerhouse, a well-tuned machine that churns out memes, jokes, fashion trends, news, music, slang, and much faster than any modern social platform.
TikTok’s success exists on both a macro and micro level, both dictating cultural trends and allowing people to curate a certain kind of lifestyle through a feed that’s constantly evolving based on your interests. . This gave artists a better platform to have their works seen by people all over the world. It helped victims of war-torn countries get their message across. It created a new generation of small business owners, an incalculable number of people who were able to improve their lives by building an audience.
The threat that the US government claims TikTok poses is of little interest to the average American. In fact, younger generations always It has existed in a very online world where their privacy has sometimes been exposed since birth. As TikTok user crutches_and_spice puts it, “I don’t give a damn if China has my data! are you kidding “Everyone has my information.”
