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In December, a piece about Luigi Mangione and America’s “blackout”—the descent into disillusionment—Vox writer Rebecca Jennings described a general malaise that has settled on the masses: “Americans across the board are finding themselves in an increasingly nihilistic mood… They’re disillusioned with the economy and pessimistic about climate change, the dating market, and their own loneliness. They are losing faith in almost every major institution in the United States, from the public school system to police departments, the military, labor unions, organized religion and, of course, the media.”
This sentiment may also describe much of the attitude toward social media platforms in 2025. Once considered the town square of the internet, X is notorious for trolls, hate speech and propaganda. Meta is back, seemingly on the trail of X and Elon Musk fact checking and protection of hate speech Incredibly fast on Facebook and Instagram. Social platforms are about to become even more toxic for their users. rich and powerful men they fight with themselves insecurity around masculinity and free speech.
TikTok, in comparison, was just another social platform. It was personalized, even helpful. I’ve been an avid TikToker for years; it’s a platform that teaches me recipes, curly hair care, how to find funding, art classes, exercise routines, plant care, and more. It has had a more positive material impact on my life than any other platform, a sentiment shared by many American users. Is this personal influence more important than listening to the government’s dry explanations of foreign influence? Just ask TikTokers now he is learning Mandarin When you move to RedNote.
Other TikTok users are spending what appear to be the last days of the app to say goodbye. “To my Chinese spy watching me through my phone” reads one“I’ll miss you.” Timeout on the app is full of creators asking their followers to follow them elsewhere, while making the most of every second dunk to their country and efforts to ban an app while larger problems persist. “A national security risk?” says user Bryan Andrews in a video With 27 million views. “Yeah right.”
Long gone are the days when TikTok was thought of as an app where people posted lip syncs and dance moves. Today, it’s a powerhouse, a finely tuned machine that churns out memes, jokes, fashion trends, news, music, slang, and more faster than any modern social platform.
TikTok’s success exists on both a macro and micro level, both dictating cultural trends and offering individuals the ability to manage a certain lifestyle through an ever-evolving feed based on your interests. gave artists is a better platform let people all over the world see their work. This helped the victims In war-torn countries, they receive their messages from abroad. It has created a new generation of small business owners, countless people who can bootstrap themselves financially do better by creating an audience.
The US government’s threat posed by TikTok is of little interest to the average American. Indeed, there are younger generations always was highly available in the online world privacy exposedsometimes from birth. As a TikTok user crutch_and_spice say, “I don’t care if China has my data! are you kidding Everyone has my information.”
