Senior Jo’el Earl may seem like your typical high school student, but on TikTok, he’s a viral content creator who has hundreds of thousands 0f likes and views on multiple of his videos.
“I have about 20,000 followers on TikTok,” Earl said, “I gained prominence on TikTok in 2020 and have been posting relatable content and fashion videos ever since.”
With the idea of TikTok getting banned being thrown around, teenagers were feeling multiple different emotions including sadness, fear and indifference.
F0r Earl, though, the idea of TikTok getting banned really didn’t mean that much to him.
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” Earl said. “Honestly, I thought it was a good thing that TikTok was getting banned. It’s a lot to handle and it gets too addicting.”
When TikTok was finally banned, Earl’s feelings were much different from most. Many people, including Memorial students and staff, were quite bummed about the ban.
Senior Ella Dawson felt both “agony and despair” when TikTok got banned, also sharing that she believes she uses TikTok about “25 hours a day, eight days a week.”
Freshman Andi Lee has over 600 followers on TikTok, where she would post dancing and cheerleading videos for her followers.
“I was really sad when TikTok got banned and I kept clicking on the app, not even realizing it was gone,” Lee said.
Students weren’t the only ones disappointed with the TikTok ban, with math teacher Jaydon Johnston being vocal about his disappointment toward the ban.
“I freaked out a little bit for my wife because she has a TikTok that has had some pretty big views on it, and so I was upset that it was going to be all gone,” Johnston said.
However, a life without TikTok would not be a reality for long. After only 14 hours, TikTok was back up like nothing had ever happened.
For Earl, a viral creator on the app, the repeal 0f a TikTok ban really didn’t mean much to him.
“I was just like, OK, I guess I can go back to making videos now,” Earl said.
While Earl felt indifferent on the matter, his feelings were an anomaly amongst feelings of joy and excitement once TikTok went back up.
Dawson and Lee both agreed that they were happy TikTok was functioning again, while Johnston found the whole situation to be amusing.
“It made me giggle when the app went back up,” Johnston said. “The ban caused mass hysteria and it was kinda funny to see everyone freaking out.”
