When Congress passed a bill last year requiring TikTok to either sell its American user base or shut down the app, no one really knew how ByteDance—TikTok’s parent company—would respond. At issue was a bipartisan fear that the Chinese government could (and would) force ByteDance to surrender data on Americans as they did during Hong Kong’s 2018 pro-democracy protests.
Fast forward roughly eighteen months—a year longer than the Congressional bill allowed—and it appears as though the saga is now coming to an end.
Oracle, Fox Corp, and several other investors have agreed to buy the company for an estimated $14 billion, and TikTok is expected to come under American control as soon as the details are finalized. However, given that all of this occurred several weeks ago, you might wonder why I’m bringing it up this morning.
The reason is that an alarming number of leaders in our government have gone from fearing TikTok to embracing the app since the sale was announced. Senators Adam Schiff and John Hickenlooper both started accounts in recent days, while President Trump and Vice President JD Vance both joined even earlier. Hickenlooper pointed specifically to the sale of the app as his reason for confidence that it was now safe to use.
The problem, though, is that nothing has actually changed. Although the deal has been agreed upon, both the algorithm and the data are still managed by ByteDance and are subject to potential manipulation by the Chinese government. Moreover, the official policy of the American government still bans the use of the app on any government device.
While the officials who have joined TikTok since the sale was announced have all done so on private devices, the basic concerns that led an overwhelming majority of them to ban the app last year have not been addressed.
And the biggest concern of all isn’t going anywhere, even after the app is in—presumably—more trusted hands.
Why TikTok is so addictive
The primary reason TikTok set off alarms in Congress and prompted multiple companies to clamor for the chance to pay billions of dollars for its rights is the algorithm that keeps people glued to the app for hours on end. Previous versions of the deal all failed because ByteDance and the Chinese government were hesitant to turn control of that algorithm over to American buyers. And while they are not selling the code outright, they are leasing it to Oracle and others.
TikTok’s internal documents state that the algorithm gets people hooked in as little as 35 minutes, with an average increase of 40 percent more time spent on the app after only the first week. After a month, even the least active users averaged just under an hour a day of scrolling, while their “power users” were watching more than four times that amount.
The pull is particularly strong for Gen Z and other young people, where 63 percent of teens ages 13 to 17 use TikTok. Moreover, 50 percent say they are on the app at least several times a day. However, some among their number are trying to change that fact, and there’s an important lesson in their efforts for each of us today.
Take responsibility for your life
The organization Time to Refuse is intent on helping Gen Z break free from social media addiction. And while Gen Z encompasses everyone born between 1996 and 2012, the organization’s focus is primarily on those in their 20s.
As Freya India described:
There are countless teachers, organizations, and advocates trying to help Generation Z and Generation Alpha escape from the addictive trap of smartphones and social media. They are fighting against fearful overprotection, pushing to get phones out of schools, and urging parents to delay social media access until at least age 16. They are on a mission to save childhood. But what about those of us who already lost ours?
She goes on to describe how many young people in their 20s today were “overprotected in the real world and abandoned online.” As the parent of two kids who reside just outside of that generation, finding a better balance than the one she describes is among my highest priorities.
But, at the end of the day, there’s only so much I can do to protect them. And, really, that’s what stood out the most from Time to Refuse’s approach. Rather than blame parents, teachers, and adults for allowing access to Facebook, TikTok, and a host of other apps, they’re calling young people to take responsibility for their lives and make the necessary changes.
To that end, they’re hosting an event in New York City this evening, with partners throughout the country joining as well, in which they’re encouraging people to delete one social media account as the first step toward greater independence. However, they’re clear that, for many, it’s just the first step:
You can’t leave the digital world and call it a day. Take more time to do the things you should already be doing. Live more slowly. Take up analog activities and real self-care activities: exercising, calling your relatives, hanging out with friends, etc.
In short, your life isn’t actually going to improve unless you not only stop doing the things that are making it worse but take the added step of replacing them with things that will make it better. And that’s a lesson that applies to far more than social media.
Virtue or another vice?
The first message that Christ preached upon starting his public ministry was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). This call to repentance epitomizes the idea we’re talking about today.
You see, biblical repentance is more than just asking forgiveness when you mess up or promising to do better in the future. The Greek word metanoia carries with it a concept of change that requires not only leaving behind the things you’ve done wrong but also choosing to replace them with something different.
Now, that something doesn’t have to be better, and far too often we end up replacing one sin with another. But if our eyes remain fixed on Jesus and our repentance leads us to pursue his righteousness (Matthew 5:6), then it becomes far easier to choose virtue over another vice.
So, where do you need to make that choice today? Are there any areas of your life where you just keep stumbling?
We all have certain sins in our lives that we are particularly prone to commit. In such instances, learning to rely on the help of other believers and, most of all, the Holy Spirit to pursue the righteousness of Christ is the only path to genuine freedom and joy.
Will you seek out that help today?
Quote of the day:
“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace, and your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.” —Jerry Bridges
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