Catchy title, right? My entire for-you page on TikTok has been infiltrated with Supreme Court rulings over whether the app will be banned or not. I have reminisced with friends over the countless edits I have of semi-attractive men that will somehow vanish into the void of the unknown on January 19th. As psychotic as it might seem, I get outwardly upset about the amount of time I have spent as an avid user of the app. Since sixth grade, @adys0nkdancer_26 has been pushing out lipsync video after lipsync video on Musical.ly. Even in middle school, I slowly rekindled my love with the newly-named app, watching countless funny videos. Now, I spend upwards of six hours a day scrolling... I don't even recollect half- or even three-fourths- of the videos I consume. But this app- at least for me- holds my "eras" so to speak. T.V. shows, movies, characters, books, makeup, celebrities: all bookmarked in my TikTok Favorite folder. Along with this sappy feelings towards the app, there is a part of me that hopes this fixes the obvious issues attached. My brain is hardwired into opening that app day in and day out; the moment I hit my alarm, TikTok is already the background noise of my day. While I'm watching a boring lecture mid-day, I scroll on TikTok in hopes of soothing my boredom somehow. As the app's lifespan slowly dwindles, I can only hope to fix my attention issues. But with that comes the constant worrying that this will all either A. blow over like 2020's potential ban did or B. content swiftly moves over to Instagram or god forbid another app.
As I've seen in text conversations with friends or posts by people my age, it seems like the consensus is somewhat similar: We want our lives back, but we also want the same level of entertainment. With this comes the idea that TikTok has fully disrupted a generation of growing young adult's and teen's minds and attention spans for the worst. Even if the app goes away, the problems will remain. Sure, doomscrolling can end on TikTok, but why couldn't it just as easily move to Instagram or Youtube? And as I continue to type this, the more and more I decide I do not care. I am f**ked either way.
And as of right now, I am sitting in my college dorm on the 12th, about to scroll on TikTok for the umpteenth hour. Just to reminisce, obviously.
A.K.
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