In December, Vox writer Rebecca Jennings wrote about Luigi Mangione and America’s “dark money” (sinking into disillusionment) describes the widespread malaise: “All Americans increasingly seem to find themselves in a mood of nihilism… They are disillusioned with the economy, disillusioned with the climate They are pessimistic about changes, the dating market, and their own loneliness. They have lost faith in nearly every major American institution, from the public school system to the police department, the military, labor unions, and, of course, the media.”

This feeling could also describe people's attitudes towards social media platforms in 2025. X was once considered the town square of the internet, but is now awash with trolls, hate speech and propaganda. Meta appears to be following in the footsteps of X and Elon Musk and is removing fact-checking and hate speech protections on Facebook and Instagram at breakneck speed. As a handful of extremely wealthy and powerful men grapple with their own insecurities about masculinity and free speech, social platforms are set to become even more toxic to their users.

In contrast, TikTok is not just another social platform. It's personal and even helpful. I've been a huge TikTok fan for years. It’s a platform that teaches me recipes, curl care, how to find financial resources, art tutorials, 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 any TikTok user who is learning Mandarin and migrating to RedNote.

Other TikTok users appear to be bidding farewell to the app's final days. One wrote: "I have Chinese spies spying on me through my phone, I'm going to miss you." The end of the app is filled with creators asking their viewers to follow them elsewhere while also taking advantage of the last seconds to slam their own country and its efforts to ban apps, while the larger problem remains. "What a fucking national security risk?" user Bryan Andrews said in a video that has been viewed 27 million times. "Yeah, damn right."

We are long past the days when TikTok was considered just an app for people to post lip-syncs and dances. Today it is a powerful machine, a finely tuned machine that can churn out memes, jokes, fashion trends, news, music, slang faster than any modern social platform.

TikTok's success exists on both a macro and micro level, both determining cultural trends and allowing individuals to curate specific lifestyles through an ever-changing feed based on your interests. It provides a better platform for artists to have their work seen by people around the world. It helps victims in war-torn countries get their messages across overseas. It has created a new generation of small business owners, and an untold number of people are able to become financially self-reliant and live better lives by building an audience.

The U.S. government’s claims that TikTok poses a threat are of little interest to ordinary Americans. Indeed, the younger generation has always Existing in a hyper-online world, their privacy is sometimes exposed from birth. As TikTok user crutches_and_spice said: "I don't give a fuck that China has my data! Are you kidding me? Everyone has my data."