TikTok facing a ban in the US sparked questions about how this decision could affect students and GenZ, who rely on the short-form video app for learning and news.

What happened?

The viral short-form video app lost a challenge to a law that’ll ban its use in the country if its owner, ByteDance, does not sell to a non-Chinese Company. The app has pledged an appeal to the Supreme Court, according to The New York Times.

Reasons include concerns that the Chinese government could gain access to sensitive user data through TikTok. The government could ban the social media app as soon as mid-January unless a court issues an injunction to block the law while the appeal proceeds.

According to a blog post published by Southern New Hampshire University, TikTok is an exposure to diverse perspectives. Hence, the ban would limit the full understanding of different events.

The app also boasts 170 million users in the US. Gen-Z use it as an educational tool and an informational search engine. It is additionally home for initiatives such as learn on TikTok to share specific knowledge.

“I think banning TikTok in US would be devastating for all students, not only journalism,” political analyst and media consultant, Mehdi Eliefifi told LaraSabri’sBlog. “It’s an important form of communication that enables them to look for new values, ideas and stories to tell”.

Eliefifi also thinks that TikTok has a major role in encouraging students to be more creative. “It enables them to create videos and report news in a short and effective way using a mobile phone,” he said.

A person using a smartphone with social media apps, sitting at a wooden table. Perfect for tech lifestyle content.
Photo by cottonbro studios via Pixabay

“Banning should never be a strategy to soften negative impact,” associate professor at American University in Sharjah, Abeer AlNajjar, remarked.

“Policy and algorithmic governance — the US based platforms have negative impacts on students too, yet they’re here to stay; educating young people and professionals to critically engage is important too” AlNajjar told LaraSabri’sBlog.

Why TikTok?

However, Stephen King, senior media lecturer at Middlesex University Dubai, pointed out that TikTok “is not the only available tool. Many services like Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and X replicate many of its functions.”

“Banning it may cause new challenges to emerge only for youth to probably return to X. They can even experiment with alternative platforms like Twitch,” he elaborated to LaraSabri’sBlog.

King also believes that TikTok “makes no difference in terms of creativity. It rather emphasizes on the community that thrives there where young people learn from each other and like to be in large groups where the action is”.

On the other hand, “TikTok is not subject to the same rules and sensibilities of Silicon Valley tech elites; it’s not American monopoly” AlNajjar highlighted.

“Banning it raises major concerns about the hegemony of certain narratives and political views, as mainstream media often manipulates”.

“If you look at users’ rights, censored content and banned accounts, you can see the dominant approach of censorship and marginalizing of more balanced and diverse voices and perspectives,” she added.

TikTok for education

According to Keystone Education Group, TikTok influences campus culture. Athletic departments and student-run clubs used it to promote their victories, contests, and events.

“TikTok offers plenty of opportunities for learning and practicing media and news production. It provides a space for playfulness and engagement with news content, analysis, and critiques,” said AlNajjar.

“Many journalism curricula have modules on news gathering using social media, strategies for verification using TikTok, and other SNAs”.

“Using TikTok appropriately will be helpful for journalism students. Research is important to differentiate between correct data and misinformation to avoid harm, using various tools like AI,” Eliefifi highlighted.

“People should believe nothing and question everything, double-checking even information from trusted news sources,” King agreed.

On the other hand, the senior lecturer believes that “false narratives are quite helpful if they assist to demonstrate what ‘bad journalism’ looks like. if the students have a mentor who is willing to discuss fake news with them and help identify its conventions”.

“Think of it like a vaccine—give young people a small dose of fake news and help them understand it. This way, they can better handle propaganda independently when they encounter it in the future.”

Harm vs benefit

“Negative impact of TikTok is possible when using it without direction by school and media organizations,” says AlNajjar. “The platform is stronger than a single student, journalist, or even newsrooms and universities”.

AlNajjar describes TikTok as a collection of wisdom, knowledge, and cultivated best practices that can help mitigate potential mishaps often caused by users through misuse.

That’s why she emphasized the importance of critical journalistic literacies and expanding on areas of verification for a healthy and productive meaningful use of the app.