It has long been claimed that social media is ruining our lives. TikTok is helping to bring this conspiracy to fruition, and the government is taking action.
After several failed attempts, the movement to ban TikTok is back in full force in the form of a bill currently awaiting congressional approval. Upon signing, the controversial bill would give the Chinese company ByteDance six months to relinquish their stock in the app by selling to American owners.
If ByteDance refuses to sell, apps overseen by the company will be banned from all app stores in the United States. In that case, TikTok would disappear.
Users have called their representatives in outrage, urging them not to pass the bill. Nonetheless, the bill passed in the House yesterday morning. If the Senate passes the proposition, President Joe Biden has already announced his plans to sign off on it.
Unrest surrounding the app stems from ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China. For decades, the American government has viewed China as a “grave threat” to democracy and American economic success.
Despite the outward appearance of a fun app that gained its popularity from dances and trends, TikTok has developed an algorithm that learns all it can about users by thoroughly compiling their usage.
Broadly speaking, legislators are more concerned with China’s control over its businesses rather than with the businesses themselves. The Chinese government holds the power to obtain and use whatever data it wishes from its companies. Due to the amount of U.S. data stored on TikTok, the motion to take action against the app has gained bipartisan support. Many representatives agree: China’s access to American users’ data is a serious threat.
Despite users’ outrage over the possible ban of TikTok, it might be in their best interest for the app to be eliminated. To the individual user, TikTok is detrimental to more than just data security.
The app's calculated algorithm is designed to encourage users to fall down hours-long rabbit holes of scrolling. It does this by analyzing your behavior and tailoring content to your every interest, making it nearly impossible to become bored. TikTok users who frequently find themselves in this scrolling trap have decreased attention spans and short-term memory issues, according to Medium.
A 2021 Brown University report found the effects of TikTok are addictive — each scroll to a new 15-second video releases dopamine to the brain and possesses users with an urge to keep searching for more.
These attention-grabbing algorithms fry users’ brains so much that they employ TikTok as background noise when completing everyday tasks because the app gives them instant gratification. This constant overstimulation slows down cognitive processing and lowers the ability to focus, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As addictive as the app is, some users have already begun to quit their scrolling cold turkey as the app has become a giant of e-commerce with TikTok shop and instituted efforts to increase digital ad market share. Almost one-third of TikTok videos encourage users to buy something through explicit ads or sponsored posts. The increase in advertisements has frustrated many users, but the company continues to make plans to further the success of their shopping network.
Some people have taken the oversaturation of ads as their sign to leave the app. But for those so riddled with addiction that the ads won’t break their love for the app, this bill might be their only hope. Despite their lack of support for the law, their brains and productivity would benefit from the removal of the 15-second dopamine hits from their everyday routine.
Efforts to reform or remove the app might be a wake-up call from Congress for us to prioritize our mental health.
Alyssa Grezek is a freshman studying psychology. Do you agree a ban on TikTok is for the best? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
