In December, in a piece about Luigi Mangione and the “blackpilling” of America-descend to despair-Vox writer Rebecca Jennings described the general pain of the masses: “The whole swath of America is increasingly exposed to a nihilistic mood … They are not happy with the economy and feeling pessimistic about climate change, the dating market, and their own loneliness.They have lost faith in nearly every major US institution, from the public school system to the police department, the military, labor unions, and, of course, the media. at 2025. X, once considered the town square of the internet, is ugly with trolls, hate speech, and propaganda. Meta, who seems to be following in the footsteps of X and Elon Musk, is rolling back the protection of hateful and hateful speech on Facebook and Instagram. .The social platform is poised to become more toxic for its own users as some of the rich and powerful struggle with insecurities about masculinity and freedom of speech.TikTok, by comparison, is not just another social platform. It’s personal, even helpful. I’ve been an avid TikToker for years; it’s a platform that teaches me recipes, curly hair care, how to find financial resources, art tutorials, workout routines, plant care, and much more. It has had a more positive material impact on my life than any other platform, a feeling shared by many American users. Is that personal influence more important than listening to dry explanations from the government about foreign influence? Just ask the TikTokers who are currently learning Mandarin when they migrate to RedNote. Other TikTok users spent what appeared to be the last day of the app saying goodbye. “To the Chinese spies watching me over the phone,” said one, “I’ll miss you.” The last moments in the app are full of creators asking their viewers to follow them elsewhere, while also using every last second to dunk on their own country and attempt to ban the app while the bigger problem is still at hand. “A national security risk?” user Bryan Andrews said in a video with 27 million views. “Yes rude.” We are long gone when TikTok was considered just an app that delivered lip syncs and dancing. Today it is a powerhouse, a finely tuned machine that creates memes, jokes, fashion trends, news, music, slang, and more faster than any modern social platform. TikTok’s success exists on a macro and micro level, dictating cultural trends and offering individuals the ability to curate a specific type of lifestyle through an ever-evolving feed based on interests. It gives artists a better platform to get their work seen by people all over the world. It helps victims in war-torn countries get messages abroad. This is creating a new generation of small business owners, an uncountable number who can generate financial returns for a better life by building an audience. Indeed, the younger generation has always been in an online world where privacy has been opened up, sometimes from birth. As TikTok user crutches_and_spice: “I don’t care if China has my data! Are you kidding me? Everyone has my data.”
