As I’m sure a lot of people are aware, on Sunday, Jan. 19 TikTok was officially banned in the United States… for a whole 14 hours. And people lost their minds. The amount of people I saw on Instagram that were showing their OOTD (outfit of the day) for “scrolling on TikTok before it’s gone” was incredible. Or the people that were actually crying because of it? And it made me wonder, are we really that addicted to social media?
I understand from a censorship point of view how the ban could be upsetting and concerning. However, people get censored on other platforms all the time and no one seems to be upset about it. I don’t want to get political, but people’s accounts get banned all the time for sharing personal views and opinions. If you’re not outraged about that censorship then you shouldn’t be outraged about this.
The thing that bothered me the most about the TikTok ban was definitely how emotional people seemed to be about losing their ability to mindlessly scroll. Doomscrolling can “negatively impact the brain by triggering a constant wave of dopamine release,” according to the Newport Institute. This can then lead to further mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety. Frankly, from a mental health standpoint, the annihilation of TikTok was actually a blessing.
I want to be clear, I don’t think social media or TikTok is a bad thing that should be banned. What I was so surprised by and honestly disappointed in was how upset everyone seemed to be. Are we that reliant on mindless scrolling and that dopamine hit that when it gets taken away we collapse? It’s an addiction that isn’t good for anyone. Dopamine is a “feel good” chemical. It’s a way for our brain to cope or protect itself if something bad is happening. Just a little dopamine hit and we’re feeling good again. TikTok is the epitome of this. In a small dose, it’s nothing harmful, but the way we spend hours and hours scrolling is just not good in the long run.
So I understand the pain of losing that “feel good” chemical, but maybe if we as a whole try to get our heads out of the phone and touch some grass we can all be happier in the long run.
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