On Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, the popular social media app TikTok went dark in the States. For many college students, this was a major adjustment, and there was little time to prepare, even though the app was back up and running in less than 24 hours.

The government’s ban on TikTok has sparked concern among Rowan students who rely on the app for entertainment, self-expression, and news. 

Citing security and privacy risks, the decision raises questions about what could happen to the people who’ve made TikTok their career, how far these restrictions could go, what could replace the app—and what it means for the platform’s future in student life. 

Since the app blew up in 2019, many people’s lives have been transformed from your typical life to full-blown celebrities seemingly overnight. Charli D’Amelio is the biggest example. The Connecticut 20-year-old gained over 100 million followers for doing dances with her friends on the app. 

While the fame she has gained from the app has helped her gain other opportunities like a role in the Broadway show “&Juliet” and her own Kardashian-style reality show, other creators haven’t been afforded the same opportunities and have relied on the app to maintain their fame and income. The question poses itself with the potential ban looming over these creators’ heads. What will creators do without the app? 

The general consensus according to Rowan students is that these creators will be unable to succeed without TikTok. Freshman sports communication and media major Mia Foti agrees. 

“I think they would try to become famous on other platforms, but it wouldn’t work as well just because most of their fans are already on TikTok,” said Foti. 

TikTok has become more than just a place to post funny videos with your friends or listen to a storytime about somebody’s crazy roommate eating their Oreos. It has become a vital source of news: global, and local, especially with the college-age group. Short attention spans, mixed with a lot of college students not having access to a TV, make TikTok the only and most accessible way to get news.  

However, freshman public relations major Taylor Taddio points out that losing TikTok as a news source could funnel out some false narratives. 

“I know that a lot of people find their news through TikTok, but I also think it may eliminate some fake news and some false information,” said Taddio.

TikTok has cemented its place in pop culture history and just history in general. Other apps like Rednote have been created to try to replace the app, also with already pre-existing apps such as Instagram and YouTube implementing TikTok-style shorts, yet it seems like according to most Rowan students the app is irreplaceable. 

Except for freshman finance major Joey Vespoli, who sees the app as pretty replaceable. 

“I think TikTok’s not all that. Instagram, just because [of] Instagram reels, it’s totally the same thing, just Instagram,” said Vespoli. 

The US government has had its eyes on the social media app for a long time. Concerned that the Chinese Government would manipulate content and gain access to user data through the app, the government forced them to make a decision. Sell the app to an American Buyer, or the app goes dark in America. When the parent company ByteDance refused to sell, the American Government stuck to its word and enforced a ban for Jan. 19. 

Rowan students had mixed feelings about the ban. Junior entrepreneurship major Lucas Jimenez felt like it would be for good for the app to be gone.  

“I feel like if TikTok were to get banned it would be a benefit to the community because I feel like people are too involved in that,” said Jimenez. 

Freshman business management major Shirley Jenkins pointed out that TikTok is not the biggest security threat that follows people in their daily lives. 

“If they really saw it as a security threat, every single thing on our phones can be a security threat. It is common knowledge that pretty much every app you own tracks you and what you are doing online or on other apps… I think there are way bigger issues in the world to worry about than an app that everyone loves,” said Jenkins. 

TikTok is here to stay for now unless it was deleted during the day-long ban, so everyone can continue to enjoy the app, for now. The ban is currently on pause until early April, according to CBS News. 

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