TikTok NEEDS to be Banned 

Welcome to TikTok! A place you can express yourself and be creative! That’s one way to introduce TikTok, a better way would be, welcome to TikTok! An app that is stealing your data and giving it to the Chinese government! A place where millions of teens waste their days scrolling and not interacting with the world around them! That is what TikTok should have in their caption. 

TikTok is a social media app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance which is used by 170 million Americans. It is a place for people to watch, share and create videos for entertainment. So why should TikTok be banned? TikTok isn’t just a fun place for people to waste their time on. TikTok needs to be banned because of its impact on mental health, the tension between the U.S. and China throughout the years and the national security threat TikTok poses to the U.S. 

TikTok is the new drug for teens. It is addictive. The average screen time for teenagers in the U.S. is 8 hours and 39 minutes. The average time teenagers spend on TikTok is 2-3 hours. TikTok is the most downloaded app in the world and every day more than one billion videos are viewed on tiktok. TikTok has stolen our lives, it has taken up our time. Rather than having a real conversation with our friends, teenagers sit on their phones together in silence. Teenagers aren’t able to communicate with one another in person.  

The teenage years are important for figuring out “who you are”. Teenagers are confused, and trying to figure out who they are and turn to the internet. Teens are self diagnosing themselves and “doctors at Texas Children’s Hospital used to see one, maybe two teenagers a year presenting with new-onset Tourette syndrome. Between spring 2020 and autumn 2021, that number skyrocketed to about 60” (Institute for Family Studies). This is just one of the many self diagnosis teenagers are giving themselves, others include depression, anxiety, ADHD and more. Teenagers see people on TikTok talking about their depression or anxiety and teenagers see all the negativity that causes them to be “depressed” or anxious. Obviously depression and anxiety are serious mental health topics however they are thrown around too much. 

Body image has become a common topic on TikTok. The TikTok “#diet has had over 11 billion views”. Being drawn to these videos leads teenagers down a rabbit hole and the TikTok algorithm will start to feed users these videos. Body dysmorphia and eating disorders have risen in young women because of these videos. 

TikTok causes teenagers to believe that they are supposed to be someone supposed to feel a certain way, that they are supposed to look a certain way and eat “better”. However the truth is that TikTok is corrupting the youths mind and creating false ideas. Not only does TikTok’s algorithm also produce these videos that negatively affect teens, they also produce propaganda to these young Americans about China. 

In order to understand the TikTok ban in the U.S., you have to be aware of the years and years of conflict between the U.S. and China. Since “1949, the countries have experienced periods of both tension and cooperation over issues including trade, climate change, and Taiwan.” (Council On Foreign Relations).  

In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong established the People’s Republic of China after defeating the Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang and thousands of his troops fled to Taiwan. The U.S. had backed the Nationalists in World War II against the Japanese supported Chiang’s exiled Republic of China government in Taipei. The U.S. supporting Chiang’s government set the stage for decades of limited relations between the U.S. and China. 

In 1953, the U.S lifted the navy blockade in Taiwan which led Chiang Kai-shek to deploy thousands of troops to the Quemoy and Matsu islands in the Taiwan Strait. In 1955 the U.S. threatened a nuclear attack on China. China agrees to negotiate. Crises started up again in 1956 and 1996. 

In 1964, China had its first atomic bomb. This created escalated conflict in Vietnam as China has amassed troops along its border with Vietnam. 

In 1971 China’s ping-pong team invited members of the U.S. team to China on April 6, 1971. This was the first public sign of warm relations between the two nations. Journalists that accompanied the U.S. players are among the first Americans allowed to enter China since 1949. In 1971 Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a secret trip to China and shortly after the United Nations recognized the People’s Republic of China. China was given the Security Council seat that had been held by Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China on Taiwan since 1945. 

In 1979 President Jimmy Carter granted China full diplomatic recognition.

In 1989 , thousands of students held demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in Beijing demanding democratic reforms and to end corruption. The government sent in military troops to clear the square leaving hundreds of protesters dead. In response, the U.S. government suspends military sales to Beijing and freezes relations. 

In 1999 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) accidentally bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. The U.S. and NATO apologize but thousands of Chinese demonstrators protest throughout the country attacking the U.S. 

Tensions rose again in 2012 with trade conflicts and with China’s new leadership.

The Trade War escalates in 2018 when President Donald Trump imposes new tariffs totaling $34 billion worth of Chinese goods. 

The relationship between the U.S. and China has changed throughout the years. In recent years the relationship between the two nations has been rocky which has raised the question of should TikTok be used by U.S. users? 

The answer is national security. TikTok is owned by the company, ByteDance which is a Chinese company. The concern is that ByteDance is selling the data of 170 million Americans to the Chinese government. China controlling TikTok means they control the algorithm. China is putting propaganda on TikTok and feeding it to the 170 million users of Americans which can cause corruption. It already has caused corruption, with many American TikTok users upset about the potential ban of the app. American’s getting mad at the government for attempting to protect their citizens and privacy. 

TikTok is a horrible app that has caused America harm. Majority of American products are produced from China. China’s economy is the worlds second largest, behind the U.S. China already has so much control of Americans, why should we let them have more control by letting them have our data? 

The answer is we shouldn’t. TikTok needs to be banned.