TikTok was banned. But before the ban could go into effect, an executive order halted the ban on Jan. 19, delaying it for 75 days. Also in January, Meta announced it was removing its Facebook fact-checkers to rely on a community approach similar to X (formerly Twitter). So much is changing so fast in the social media landscape.
But is it business as usual for students using social media? Has anything changed? Kent State Today went out to learn more.
It is clear the recent regulations surrounding popular social media platforms have users unsure about the future of social platforms, especially TikTok. The app boasts more than 170 million U.S. users who might see more changes coming to the short-form video platform. Now that TikTok is removed from app stores, it is uncertain what changes are expected.
Stefanie Moore, professor of public relations in the School of Media and Journalism, said that TikTok is a highly influential platform, but it sparks national security concerns with U.S. policymakers.
“This is a favored platform for entertainment, education and monetization,” Moore told Kent State Today. “There are a lot of unanswered questions and nuances regarding why TikTok is being targeted.”
Since the chairman of X, Elon Musk, and the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, have made headlines for their collaborations with President Donald Trump, people are left wondering how this will change many well-loved apps.
Brianna Cunningham, a junior business management major, uses TikTok as a search engine for recipes, workouts and entertainment.
“I think if TikTok gets sold to the U.S. the owner would make major changes that would drive people away from the app,” Cunningham said. “I saw a lot of people saying if that happens, TikTok is better off banned.”
Rebelling against the national security concern that China is accessing American data, users started moving to RedNote, one of China’s biggest social media platforms that resembles TikTok.
Nathan Schiopota, a junior entrepreneurship major, was one of those users who downloaded RedNote but did not think it could replace TikTok.
“It did not feel like a proper replacement for TikTok,” Schiopota said. “The algorithm was odd. The only similarity I remember was the format of the app itself.”
Alexa Rosenberger, a junior political science major, deleted TikTok months before the ban for reasons of disinformation and its impact on mental health.
“I was shocked to hear about how the ban played out and the messages,” Rosenberger said. “Personally, I did not like the content I was seeing. The algorithm makes it so anyone can get attention, even if they’re posting something misleading.”
Moore said there is a fine line between free speech, misinformation and censorship, all of which have raised the ethical and legal concerns for internet users and companies.
“When you start introducing more or fewer regulations, that is going to change the complete structure of social media,” Moore said. “People sometimes flock to more conversational and personalized platforms in response to changes in platform policies.”
Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, announced earlier this year the company will be ending its fact-checking program in the U.S. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said starting in March, Facebook will rely on its users to correct inaccurate information and allow more speech. This is a similar system to the Community Notes fact-checking feature on X, where users correct information themselves.
“I enjoy Instagram. It has all the aspects of your favorite social media on one app,” Schiopota said. “I prefer it over similar apps like Facebook because it's more in tune with my generation.”
Rosenberger is one of many internet users who sources their news information from X but notices a problem with sourcing credible information on the platform.
“Twitter changed for the worse when Elon Musk bought the app. It’s not the same as before,” Rosenberger said. “People can pay for verification now and it has become very politically driven, which I think has everything to do with what is currently going on in politics.”
Some users who disagree with X and the policies instituted by Musk have been moving to BlueSky, an app owned by X’s former CEO Jack Dorsey. The new platform has more than 20 million users and is appealing because of its regulations against hate speech, misinformation and other potentially harmful content.
Sheridan Hawkins, a junior entrepreneurship major, downloaded BlueSky shortly after its release in 2023 and still uses it to keep up with her favorite creators and artists.
“In my opinion, BlueSky is more user-friendly,” Hawkins said. “The regulations between the apps are different but the interfaces are the exact same.”
Hawkins still uses X but thinks the app is incredibly toxic compared to BlueSky and other apps.
“The team behind BlueSky seems to be trying to make the user experience as customized as possible,” Hawkins said. “I like X’s Community Notes feature, but I wonder if it would even be needed if troll accounts were not reinstated.”
The future of social media is unclear, and students are left to watch from the sidelines during these changes to platforms and policies.
"Are other mega social media and tech leaders going to purchase TikTok? Will there be another app that replaces TikTok?” Moore said. “We don’t really know how this will play out and will have to wait and see.”