TikTok has become one of the most popular apps for a very long time. This year there are nearly 150 million people that have the app. On Jan.19, 2024, people will be saying their goodbyes to this app. By this date Google and Apple must be ready to take it off their app stores. 

Many influencers on TikTok have been making jokes about what their life will look like once TikTok is shut down. Tikoker James Charles posted a video saying, “Me practicing for when TikTok gets banned,” and he was working at Chick-fil-A. Many of the TikTok influencers make their money from this app so once it shuts down they won’t have a place to get their income anymore. People have been posting videos of themselves crying and wishing that this was fake, but it is not. 

The main reason they are banning TikTok is because ByteDance, which is a Chinese internet company in Beijing, has access to U.S. data through this app, and they are sharing it with the Chinese government. 

There are also many other reasons for the ban. TikTok also has been encouraging dangerous activities for kids to do. The challenges that these teenagers face go insanely viral and more kids try to start them as well. There has been the outlet challenge, the tide pod challenge, the blackout challenge, the chroming challenge, the school breaker challenge, and the most recent the Superman challenge. These challenges go incredibly viral but kids get hurt. It is understood why people would want TikTok to be gone. 

Now, even after they have approved it will be banned in January TikTokers don’t want to believe it. A couple of years ago there were rumors of TikTok getting banned but no one seemed to believe it because it didn’t have a proper date then. Since the ban is truly confirmed people are posting saying that if TikTok does get shut down teenagers and adults will just move to Instagram and that will be the new hit. Overall, the disappointment is no one wants to let go of this highly used app, people weren’t expecting it but now that they are finally realizing it is true, the goodbyes are starting to come along with it.