Yes, it was. I’m sure everyone in the U.S. uses TikTok by now, and they’re probably a little addicted to it. Having heard an announcement saying that one of the Apps that I spend most of my time on was being shut down, it was probably the same feeling that I felt when I heard that COVID-19 Pandemic was getting serious.
My friends and I were literally freaking out, because of our streaks. They’re like our babies, and the possibility of having them ended was a fear. So, on the 18th I spent almost all of my day scrolling on TikTok, trying to enjoy it as long as I could, because they said that the App would shut down on the 19th—that’s what we thought—around 9 p.m. on the 18th, I was basically kicked out of the app. X/Twitter went crazy, tweets were getting +100k likes in less than 30 minutes, people were downloading VPN (myself included), and life wasn’t just the same.
People started to wonder what would they do now, how would they send relatable videos to their friends, how would they follow an influencer that they really liked, how would they repost edits of their favorite celebrities and movies. This kept almost everyone up all night. Fortunately, 14 hours later, TikTok came back and it was like a rainbow after a dark and heavy rain.
As I was reflecting on how losing an app can affect us so much, I started to realize how unserious and futile Gen Z has become. I won’t be hypocritical and say that I’m not just like the rest of them—I sure am—I was also freaking when it shut down, but there are more important things in life. Sometimes, being away from your cellphone and social media can actually be very good for your well-being.
In the end, the TikTok shutdown was a wake-up call. It’s crazy how attached we can get to an app or a platform, but it also made me realize that maybe we could all benefit from stepping away from our phones once in a while. It’s easy to get caught up in the digital world, but there’s a whole life outside of it. So, next time we’re all obsessing over a possible app shutdown, maybe we can take a breather and remember that there are other ways to connect and enjoy life. In the meantime, I’m just glad TikTok is back. But hey, maybe it’s time to put down the phone for a few minutes and enjoy some real-world moments too.
