- TikTok’s ban, which may be short-lived, has caused some users to reevaluate the movement’s culture.
- The app went dark over the weekend before Trump said he would extend TikTok’s sales deadline.
- The uncertainty drove many users to other apps. Others said they might give up on the move altogether.
As the days turned into hours before the TikTok ban, many Americans shared a common refrain: “Follow me on RedNote!”
The mass migration to another Chinese-owned short video app pushed Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, to the top of Apple’s app store, with Lemon8, TikTok’s sister app, close behind. Apps like Instagram, X and YouTube are also competing for users’ attention.
However, some TikTok users say confusion over the app’s future is causing them to consider another option: Quitting the app altogether.
TikTok went dark overnight on Saturday in anticipation of a ban. Then on Sunday, it started coming back online after President-elect Donald Trump said he would delay the ban by executive order.
It was just the latest about-face in a week of uncertainty that left TikTok users feeling “shocked,” Casey Lewis, author of the youth consumer newsletter After School, told Business Insider.
“I think this has been the weirdest week on TikTok, consumption-wise,” Lewis said. “I’ve had an onslaught of people retweeting the first TikTok they ever made or the first sound they ever saved, so that kind of nostalgia.”
At 37, Lewis said she’s seen her share of social media apps come and go.
“These young people who stumbled on TikTok, unless something is completely right, easy to get into, I can’t see them looking for anything and I think their screen time will drop,” said Lewis.
From mourning to reappraisal
While many users said they would find similar apps to fill the void left by TikTok, others said they would look for better things to do, such as reading, working out or even “touching grass” to avoid being pulled into another app and back to the doom-scrolling culture in general.
“I’m a victim of the doomsday movement all the time. I shouldn’t really be because I also have a kid, so it’s like when she’s napping, I really should be doing things, but I’m on my phone on TikTok.” , Robin Reineke, a 28-year-old real estate agent in St. Louis, told Business Insider.
Reineke said that she made some money from her living content on TikTok, but it wasn’t her whole life or her only source of income. Part of what made the app special was its algorithm and the community it created among its users, like “you’re on FaceTime with your best friends,” she said.
Given that the application is pending in the future, she intends to devote more time and energy to herself and her work.
“I’m excited to get my life back and I’m trying to focus on this new healthy era for myself,” she said. “It’s giving me the opportunity to focus back on my physical and mental health and not be so consumed by what everyone else is doing all the time.”
Creators question the move to other social media apps
Users aren’t the only ones who reevaluate – content creators are too.
Sierra Boudreaux, a 26-year-old who worked in finance before becoming a full-time content creator, had similar thoughts. In a TikTok she posted last week, she joked: “And if we lose this, I don’t think I’m going to RedNote. Like, I think I’m just going to have a baby, dammit!”
While she told BI that she was mostly making fun of screen time on TikTok – “If I’m not spending all my time creating content or consuming content on this app, I’d have time to get pregnant, have a baby, grow a baby” — she said she’s skeptical about switching to RedNote, which she said may not have as much branding and monetization potential as other apps that are more established in the States. United.
“I think even though it can be fun,” Boudreaux said, “a lot of creatives are probably like me in this mode where it’s like, ‘Okay, what’s our next career pivot and what makes a lot of sense to invest our time in? ‘”
While RedNote is well established in China, it may just be “a blip on the radar” for Americans, Boudreaux said.
“Should I create content for this emerging platform (at least in the US market)?” she said. “Or should I focus on X, my podcast that I have, Instagram, the whole Meta universe?
Boudreaux said spending time reading or training for a marathon might be a better move for her, noting that she had already reduced her screen time on TikTok in recent months.
“As a creator who engages with other creators, whether they’re in common with me or not, there’s this basic level of comparison. What is their engagement? What are their views? What are their likes? And so it wasn’t just this break for me, it was also a fertile ground for me to see what everyone else is doing and then compare myself to it,” she said. “So I’ve been filling my time in other ways.”
Business magic in a bottle
While some people may be rethinking their social media habits, most will likely focus on finding an adequate replacement (at least until TikTok figures out its future), Charles Lindsey, an associate professor of marketing, told BI. at the University at Buffalo’s School of Management. .
When there’s an industry change for regulatory or competitive reasons, “sometimes you’ll see a certain percentage of people who will say, ‘You know what? I’m going to take this time to reflect and disconnect before I decide what to do. then.’ And that’s certainly a valid answer,” Lindsey said.
But the vast majority of users would still end up migrating to other apps if they haven’t already, he said.
TikTok was briefly unavailable to US users on Saturday night. illustration by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
So the race is on to see which app can absorb TikTok’s recalcitrant users, whether it’s RedNote or Lemon8, Meta, X or YouTube platforms. There’s also a chance that other apps will emerge to fill the gap, Lindsey said.
“For many users and content creators, it really comes down to dollars and cents,” Lindsey said. “I think whichever platform makes the most sense in terms of pushing their content, developing a critical mass of followers and getting their existing followers to migrate and so on.”
Although TikTok’s ban brought a noticeable uptick in hatred toward Mark Zuckerberg and promises to boycott his apps, outrage alone may not be enough to move the needle on which app eventually fills the void.
“I think you can have a preference, and we’re seeing that with RedNote going all the way to the top,” Lindsey added. “Whether this becomes the app of choice three, six months, a year from now, I think it all depends on the functionality of the app.”
It could also come down to mimicking the magic in a bottle that was the TikTok experience, which had a unique surge in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent five-year reign, Lewis said. TikTok had an “unbeatable” algorithm and comment sections that kept users entertained and engaged, she said.
“I think if they have to look hard for a suitable alternative, then they will reevaluate their time,” Lewis said. “Consumers aren’t lazy, but they’re not going to jump through hoops to find a way to waste time online.”
