TikTok Ban: Gen Z Says It Wouldn't Switch to Instagram, Rather New App

Table Of Content

• The U.S. might ban TikTok. Record labels are cutting ties. What’s music’s Plan B?
• Questions swirl over the future of TikTok. Who could own it? How will the platform operate?
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• South Africa marks ‘Freedom Day,’ 30 years since apartheid ended, amid discontent with the ANC
• More on climate change
• Russia attacks Ukrainian psychiatric hospital, energy facilities; Kyiv launches drones at Russia
• For some, TikTok is a path to riches and the American dream. With a ban, it could all disappear

It is hard to make sweeping statements about any generation, especially one that spans the ages of 12 to 27, but a mass exodus of the ones who use TikTok to Meta's photo app is unlikely, they said. Creators are very unhappy, considering a potential ban hypocritical and an infringement on their freedom of speech. Our climate coach Michael J. Coren is answering questions about environmental choices in our everyday lives. The Post is tracking a variety of climate solutions, as well as the Biden administration’s actions on environmental issues. It can feel overwhelming facing the impacts of climate change, but there are ways to cope with climate anxiety. The change has sparked a huge backlash from Californians and rooftop solar companies, which say that their businesses are flagging.

The U.S. might ban TikTok. Record labels are cutting ties. What’s music’s Plan B?

The company has indicated that it would likely go to court to try to block the law if it passes, arguing it would deprive the app’s millions of users of their 1st Amendment rights. Yap said she's heard whispers of people moving to Discord and Twitch, but these platforms don't have short-form video people can endlessly scroll like TikTok does. A Pew Research Center survey found YouTube is the biggest social media platform among US teens, with 93% of respondents aged saying they used it.

Questions swirl over the future of TikTok. Who could own it? How will the platform operate?

“The problem we’re seeing out West — nobody else has seen this,” Loutan said. “You don’t want the utility or the grid operator to be overpaying for power when they don’t have to,” Davis said. Nadya Okamoto, a content creator who has roughly 4 million followers on TikTok, said she has been having conversations with other creators who are experiencing “so much anger and anxiety” about the bill and how it’s going to affect their lives. The 26-year-old, whose company, August, sells menstrual products and is known for her advocacy around destigmatizing menstrual periods, makes most of her income from TikTok. He said he thinks there could have been less restrictive ways to go after the company that wouldn’t result in a total ban or threaten free speech.

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(That’s roughly 1 percent of the state’s overall power generation in a year, or 5 percent of its solar generation.) Last year, the state did that in just the first eight months. Since mid-March, TikTok has spent $5 million on TV ads opposing the legislation, according to AdImpact, an advertising tracking firm. The ads have included a diverse group of content creators, including a nun, extolling the positive impacts of the platform on their lives and arguing a ban would trample on the 1st Amendment. The company has also encouraged its users to contact Congress, and some lawmakers have received profanity-laced calls. Curtailing solar isn’t technically difficult — according to Paul Denholm, senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, it’s equivalent to flipping a switch for grid operators. They sit in dry, desert landscapes in the Central Valley and are scattered over rooftops in Los Angeles’s urban center.

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The bill’s quick path through Congress is extraordinary because it targets one company and because Congress has taken a hands-off approach to tech regulation for decades. Lawmakers had failed to act despite efforts to protect children online, safeguard users’ privacy and make companies more liable for content posted on their platforms, among other measures. But the TikTok ban reflects widespread concerns from lawmakers about China. TikTok has lobbied hard against the legislation, pushing the app’s 170 million U.S. users — many of whom are young — to call Congress and voice opposition. But the ferocity of the pushback angered lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where there is broad concern about Chinese threats to the U.S. and where few members use the platform themselves.

TikTok is in second place at 63%, followed by Snapchat with 60%. Josie doesn't share her full name on TikTok, and she said she has everyone in real life blocked on there, including her friends and her boyfriend. "The TikTok ban bill was just passed in the House, which is a bummer," she said. But the idea of posting her TikTok content to Instagram Reels in front of everyone she knew in high school wasn't appealing. California grid operators hope that their experience will teach other states what to expect as renewables grow.

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Customers can get more money back if they install batteries and provide power to the grid in the early evening or morning. In response, California has cut back incentives for rooftop solar and slowed the pace of installing panels. But the diminishing economic returns may slow the development of solar in a state that has tried to move to renewable energy. And as other states build more and more solar plants of their own, they may soon face the same problems. In 2020, federal courts blocked an executive order issued by then-President Trump to ban TikTok after the company sued on the grounds that the order violated free speech and due process rights.

Russia attacks Ukrainian psychiatric hospital, energy facilities; Kyiv launches drones at Russia

"I feel like Instagram is pushing Reels so hard that it's pretty easy to click on something and fall into the infinite scroll," he added. "If TikTok is banned, I think I might use it as a reason to get off social media completely," he said, apart from X which he needs to use for work. "I hate posting on Instagram now," said Tabitha Mae, a creator who posts storytime videos. In a recent TikTok, she said there had been a "shift" over the past few years where posting on Instagram became "an insanely stressful, nerve-racking process." While they may have an account to document their social lives, like millennials have a Facebook page that's gathering dust, Zoomers have found Instagram pretty cringe for a while now.

For some, TikTok is a path to riches and the American dream. With a ban, it could all disappear

“Throwing away some amount of renewable energy can absolutely make economic sense,” he said. The U.S. government has not publicly provided evidence that shows TikTok shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or tinkered with the company’s popular algorithm, which influences what Americans see. Members of both parties, along with intelligence officials, have worried that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over American user data or direct the company to suppress or boost TikTok content favorable to its interests. TikTok has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government and has said it has not shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.

His administration brokered a deal that would have had U.S. corporations Oracle and Walmart take a large stake in TikTok. The sale never went through for a number of reasons; one was China, which imposed stricter export controls on its technology providers. It's unclear if such AI tools would convince Gen Z to scroll on Instagram and use it more often. However, Sophie Lund-Yates, from Hargreaves Lansdown, told the BBC that Meta's "substantial investment" in AI has helped it get people to spend time on its platforms.

TikToker Cassandra Marie, for example, called Clapper the "new TikTok" and praised the app's growth potential, as well as the nostalgic feel of being like TikTok in its early days. However, he said many of his friends are happy to move to Instagram since they are already active users. They use Reels so they don't feel left out of TikTok trends, he said. Kat, who was born in 1998 and works in social media, told BI she doesn't think it's likely young people will flood to Instagram.

Instagram is "boring, exhausting, and generally not fun" compared with TikTok, Farah said, which boomed during the pandemic and quickly became her most-used social media platform. To cope, CAISO is selling some excess power to nearby states; California is also planning to install additional storage and batteries to hold solar power until later in the afternoon. Transmission lines that can carry electricity to nearby regions will also help — some of the lost power comes from regions where there simply aren’t enough power lines to carry a sudden burst of solar. In the summer, when high air conditioning use strains the grid, solar can be useful even in the middle of the day. Denholm says that as solar continues to drop in price, installing solar that is curtailed regularly can still be cost-effective.

But Gen Zers who spoke with BI said social media platforms all have different purposes, and they doubt Instagram can capture the magic of scrolling on TikTok. "We'd probably splinter off into a million different places, bombarding our friends and followers with 'come follow me here' messages across every social media platform imaginable," Gabrielle Yap, a Gen Z writer, told BI. While the most obvious solution would be for them to start posting their content on Instagram Reels — Instagram's short-form video platform — that's not what will happen, several Zoomers told Business Insider. But a year ago, the state changed this system, known as “net-metering,” and now only compensates new solar panel owners for how much their power is worth to the grid. In the spring, when the duck curve is deepest, that number can dip close to zero.

City Market Social House boasts 20,000 square feet of newly renovated, fully permitted, contemporary private event space, in a historic warehouse setting. Organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union have backed the app. “Congress cannot take away the rights of over 170 million Americans who use TikTok to express themselves, engage in political advocacy, and access information from around the world,” said Jenna Leventoff, a lawyer for the group. After UMG pulled its catalog from the app and as political pressure - or even a domestic ban - threatens its viability, artists and their creative and business teams are pondering a world without it. The thought of a TikTok ban is scary, she said, but Gen Zers are "adaptable" and "creative" and will find a way to keep sharing their voices whatever happens.

Over 15 years ago, researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory were in the midst of modeling a future with widespread solar power when they noticed something strange. With lots of solar power on a given electricity grid, the net load — or the demand for electricity minus the renewable energy — would take on a “U” shape. Sky-high demand in the morning would be replaced by almost zero demand in the middle of the day, when solar power could generate virtually all electricity people needed. The House has passed legislation that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, but don’t expect the app to go away any time soon. Other states, which have been slower to adopt solar, are starting to experience the same thing. Nevada, which generates 23 percent of its power from solar, has also seen deepening duck curves.

Filters and Reels remain more popular with millennials than Gen Z, while Zoomers favor stories and DMs, according to a YPulse survey last year. "So I actually have this nice, cozy little open public diary, and I never really feel like I need to be confronted about it in person," she said. As a potential US TikTok ban looms, Gen Zers are contemplating what app might take its place.