Why You Should Care About TikTok

Banning the app is a show of power, but it doesn’t really protect your privacy.

Video by Chai Dingari and Asaf Kastner

This article and the video above have been updated to reflect news developments.

Maybe you first learned about TikTok when your kids tried to teach you the Toosie Slide, or when you came across a kinetic Charli D’Amelio video that got millions of likes. Or was it when your nephew started a small fire because of the “outlet challenge?” In any case, you’ve definitely heard that President Trump is intent on banning it this Sunday. But who really cares if an app — used mostly by Gen Z — is shut down by the government?

You, for one, should.

In the video Op-Ed above, a group of highly influential TikTokers from around the country, with followers in the millions, demonstrate that the platform is more than cringy video for and by teenagers. It’s the most downloaded app, and nearly 100 million Americans use it for a range of things — like political organizing and access to religious guidance, or inspiring a new hobby under quarantine, like beekeeping — even boomers and educators are on the app.

Like any social media platform, we should keep an eye on it. But that doesn’t mean this one app should be targeted — if anything, we should be paying closer attention to other companies, like Facebook.

Even if you still don’t care about what’s happening with TikTok, you should be worried about what could be next.