TikTok has become known for its vast array of niche communities, from #BookTok and #BeautyTok to #DIYTok and #MoneyTok. Many users discovered new hobbies and interests or acquired new skills on TikTok, using the comments section as a sounding board for concerns along the way.
“I’ve been able to reach and connect with so many people to the point that when I meet you guys, [you] break down crying about how something I’ve posted has helped them,” Miami-based fashion and beauty creator Alix Earle wrote on one of her recent videos.
Beauty creator James Charles shared Earle’s concerns, posting a video on Instagram during the blackout in which he called the ban “dystopian”.
“This has been a massive part of our lives for the last six years … I feel disconnected, I feel cut off from the world and my community,” he said.
It wouldn’t be TikTok without memes, though. In the lead-up to the shutdown, many creators shared deep (usually fake or intentionally controversial) secrets in videos that used a popular Family Guy soundbyte. Others jokingly bid farewell to their TikTok “Chinese spy”, or claimed they’d move to China to keep the app.
It will be difficult to find a replacement
Like Charles, many US users flocked to Instagram during the shutdown. Even those overseas unaffected by the ban, myself included, found themselves scrolling parts of the app they hadn’t touched in years.
Determined to see how some of my favourite American creators were faring, I turned to Instagram Reels. But after five minutes of scrolling, I realised my Meta algorithm was entirely out of whack. Instead of my favourite “day in the life” videos, I was met with Robert Irwin chatting about I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here and random French content (I can’t speak French).
I eventually resorted to manually trying to find my favourite creators’ recent content, but even that was difficult because, unlike TikTok, it’s spread across different parts of the app. Is it on their grid, their reel or their story? I’m looking for mindless doom-scrolling, not a treasure hunt.
Others who knew Instagram would be a disaster well before the shutdown downloaded a Chinese app called RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu. This lifestyle platform rocketed to the top of the US Apple app store days before the ban took effect, with many new US users dubbing themselves “TikTok refugees”.
However, the likelihood that it’ll continue topping the charts is slim. The app is more of a lifestyle search engine, closer to something like Pinterest than TikTok.
Do we need American creators?
A US ban would mean about 170 million users would be cut from the platform. And, theoretically, that could leave more room in Australians’ For You feeds for content beyond North America.
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That could be especially beneficial for up-and-coming artists, comedians and musicians – many of whom may find it difficult to stand out among the current glut of content.
But fewer users also means fewer viewers for remaining creators. And less content overall. And if more creators outside the US follow their American audiences to other apps, TikTok may lose relevancy.
“At least half of my followers are from America,” prominent Australian creator Anna Paul said in a recent TikTok.
The next 90 days will be critical as creators like this find the best path forward.
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