In December, in an article about Luigi Mangione and the “offensive” of America—the fall into disillusionment—vox writer Rebecca Jennings describes the general unrest gripping the masses: “All Americans seem increasingly nihilistic…They are frustrated with the economy and pessimistic about climate change, the dating market and their own loneliness. They are losing faith in almost every major American institution, from the public school system to police departments, the military, unions, organized religion and, of course, the media.”
That feeling could also describe much of the attitude towards social media platforms in 2025. X, once considered the center of the Internet, is bad at trolling, hate speech and propaganda . Meta, seemingly following in the footsteps of X and Elon Musk, is making a comeback reality check And protect hate speech on Facebook and Instagram at breakneck speed. Social platforms are even more willing to become toxic towards their users when a handful of rich and powerful men Struggle with yourself insecurities surrounding masculinity and freedom of speech.
On the contrary, TikTok is not just another social platform. It's personalized, even helpful. I have been an avid TikToker for many years; It's a platform that teaches me cooking recipes, curly hair care, how to find finances, art instruction, workout routines, plant care, etc. It has a positive material impact on my life. my life more than any other platform, this feeling is shared by many American users. Is that personal impact more important than hearing dry explanations from the government about foreign influence? Just ask TikTokers Currently studying Mandarin when they migrate to RedNote.
Other TikTok users are spending what appears to be the app's final days saying goodbye. “To the Chinese spy tracking me through my phone,” read one“I will miss you.” Closing time on the app is full of creators asking their audiences to follow them elsewhere, while also using every last second to immerse yourself in their country and attempts to ban an app while much larger problems persist. “Fucking national security risk?” user Bryan Andrews said in a video with 27 million views. “Yes, that's right.”
We are long past the days when TikTok was considered just an app where people posted dances and lip-syncs. Today, it is a powerhouse, a finely tuned machine that churns out memes, jokes, fashion trends, news, music, slang and much faster than any social platform. How modern?
TikTok's success exists on both a macro and micro level, determining both cultural trends and giving individuals the ability to curate a specific type of lifestyle through a constantly evolving feed based on your preferences. It gave artists a better platform to have their work seen by people around the world. It help victims in war-torn countries take their message abroad. It created a new generation of small business owners, an uncountable number of capable people self-financed have a better life by building an audience.
The threat that the US government claims TikTok poses does not attract much attention from ordinary Americans. Indeed, the younger generation does always exist in a highly online world where they privacy has been exposedSometimes since birth. Be a TikTok user crutches_and_spices said: “I don't care if China has my data! Are you kidding? Everyone has my data.”