By Anya Weerapana, Banner Staff

     Just minutes after 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 19, the popular short-form video-sharing app TikTok began shutting down for users in the United States after government officials deemed the platform a threat to national security. Because TikTok is a beloved form of social media amongst Winsor students, its ban shocked their daily routines and even prompted extreme feelings of withdrawal. The Banner interviewed some students to see precisely what they thought at the brief moment TikTok was gone from their phones. 

      Emily Zhang ’25: I was editing my final project for my English class, Empire Writes Back, using TikTok’s editing platform, CapCut. Suddenly, the app stopped working, and when I refreshed it, a notification popped up alerting me that TikTok had been banned. I screamed and started sobbing uncontrollably.

       Bailey Hall ’28: My dreams of being an influencer took a huge hit on January 19 at 7:30 p.m. I opened TikTok like I do every night, but then I saw it… a message saying TikTok had been banned. And of course, because I’m impatient, I clicked “delete,” thinking the app would return. 

       A few hours later, my friends started sending me TikToks, all relieved and excited that the app was back. So, I rushed to the App Store, my heart racing… and then I searched for TikTok. It wasn’t on my phone, my iPad. Thankfully, I still have TikTok on my computer. I’m never signing out of that app again. And maybe my influencer dreams aren’t dead.

Remy  Kim ’25: To be honest, I couldn’t even process it. I was so excited for my friends to finally appreciate Instagram Reels the way I do. I’ve always thought Reels were better. ☐

TikTok Ban, Google Images