I initially wrote this article over a week ago, when we were not yet sure what a TikTok ban would look like, but news changes very quickly, just as the speculation regarding what TikTok’s ban would look like was. Anything we had heard, even from the app’s lawyer, was speculation and various news sites ended up being wrong about what really happened when the app went dark.
The rise of TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, began with a strategic acquisition and merger by the Chinese company ByteDance. In 2017, ByteDance bought the app Musical.ly. Then, in 2018, they merged it with their existing app. This app became what we now know as TikTok.
President Donald Trump said he had worked to save the app, despite his attempt to shut it down during his first term. In fact, in 2020 he signed an executive order against ByteDance, which would ban the app from permitting Americans to engage in transactions. Still, some people speculated concern that this would slowly make the app unusable.
Prior to its temporary ban on Jan. 19, regular TikTok users shared similar concerns about what it means to lose a major social media platform and the measures they took, assuming the app would be gone for good. TikTok user @jenniferxbagwell shared the strong measures she took in an effort to protect her data.
“I was devastated when the app was gone,” UCF student Alexandra Bernstein said. “But the whole thing now just feels very weird.”
Over the weekend, TikTok users in the United States experienced disruptions due to a temporary ban that took the app offline late Saturday night. Upon reopening the app on Sunday, users were greeted with a pop-up message stating, “Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
Once the app was live again, Bernstein, like many other users, voiced that the messages appearing on American users’ TikTok accounts on both Saturday night and Sunday morning felt odd. Maya Polom, another UCF student, also shared her thoughts on the matter.
“I thought that it was weird that the app sent out messages to its users thanking Trump for bringing the app back before he was in office,” Polom said.
Polom also mentioned her confusion regarding TikTok CEO Shou Chew attending Trump’s inauguration.
“With how fast the app returned, the whole thing just feels like it was all one joke or something,” Polom said.
Upon the app’s return, some users posted about their algorithm being different, finding different ads and popups than usual, and having videos or comments deleted, among other things that felt different about the app. Some users brushed it off as the app readjusting after being down in the United States.
In contrast, others believe the app was sold to Meta, a company owned by Mark Zuckerberg who also manages Instagram and Facebook. This theory came about due to some crossover features, including a popup on Facebook offering to link TikTok and Facebook before the ban, as well as the launching of the app Edits, which swept up the market. Conversely, CapCut, which is owned by ByteDance, and still banned.
In the days preceding the ban, there were plans to move to other apps in protest. Even now that TikTok has returned to its American users, some users do not intend to return to TikTok, as reported by the New York Times.
One solution that quickly took the internet by storm was the Chinese app Xiaohongshu (Red Note). This app is available in most app stores and is the primary social media used in China. It seems like many TikTok users flooding the app are also looking to use it for short-form comedy. Similar to the comedy sketches and videos that would frequently appear on the For You page of TikTok.
What makes this app so interesting is the way some Americans have used it as a form of retaliation against the TikTok ban. On Jan. 13, ‘Red Note’ became the No. 1 trending app in the Apple App Store. Many TikTok users find it an acceptable substitute for lifestyle content and a good social media alternative for a potential Facebook and Instagram boycott.
That said, not everyone made a full platform switch during the short-lived TikTok ban. Bernstein said that since she was already an Instagram user, she had moved to Instagram Reels.
“I was really hoping the ban wouldn’t happen because I didn’t like using Reels as an alternative,” Bernstein said.
So, along with Red Note as an alternative to TikTok for lifestyle content, what about other niches?
Bluesky is a microblogging app with an interface that very closely resembles X. The app was officially launched in Feb. 2024 and was created by Twitter’s original CEO and Twitter’s early developers. According to Bluesky’s Announcing/About section, it was launched as a way to promote independence for “open and decentralized public conversation.” This app appears to be an alternative to Twitter to find quick information and news, the way users receive it on TikTok.
Tumblr is also making a resurgence, though its users say the app never actually died. Tumblr has always been rampant for fandoms. In light of the temporary TikTok ban, people were excited to go back to Tumblr for a sense of internet nostalgia. Not only is it proving to be the place to go for uncensored fandom content, but many people in spaces such as BookTok, WitchTok, and other alternative culture niches are moving to the app for its sense of community and its customizable aesthetic. Tumblr seems to be the move for those TikTok users looking for a new space to keep their digital diary.
Bernstein said that regardless of who someone supports, staying informed on the United State’s major social media apps is crucial.
“I think that it’s really important when we use social media we know who is behind these apps,” Bernstein said.
Despite the discourse of TikTok, especially regarding the timing being so close to the presidential inauguration, there are several conflicting ideas. The best thing people can do is stay informed from a variety of sources and remain calm either way.
With that being said, the TikTok drama isn’t the ‘end all’ of the internet. New apps will come and go, replacing the ones before them. It’s the digital cycle of life.