The Dilemma of TikTok

The Dilemma of TikTok

The news that TikTok, an app that had become an indispensable part of Arooj’s life, was going to be banned in her country came to her on a Thursday morning. She couldn’t believe that her friends, her favorite artists, and even her daily dose of dance challenges were going to disappear.

On the app, Arooj had spent years cultivating a small but devoted following by sharing her passion for cooking and oddball life tips.

For her, TikTok served as more than just an app it was a platform that allowed her to meet people from all over the world who had similar interests to her own and helped her feel less isolated.

She couldn’t bear to part with all of her supporters, who had become her friends.

However, the government’s decision was final, and TikTok would no longer be accessible for download or use in her nation by the end of the month.

Everyone appeared to be going crazy around her. Others discussed moving to rival platforms like YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels, while others were thinking about using VPNs to get around the ban. However, none of these solutions felt the same.

Arooj sat down and took one last look at her feed on her phone. As she scanned the screen with her fingers, she wondered, “What if there’s still a way?”

She had an idea: what if there was still a way to get on TikTok after being banned? She recalled how some people had accessed foreign content using virtual private networks (VPNs).

Arooj, intrigued, launched the app one final time before deleting it entirely from her device. She began reading internet forums where people were talking about workarounds.

As expected, she discovered a whole community devoted to assisting users in continuing to use blocked apps. They described how VPNs could conceal her location and give the impression that she was accessing the site from a nation where TikTok was still operational.

Arooj followed the instructions with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. To her surprise, she was still able to open the app and watch videos as if nothing had changed after downloading a VPN and selecting a server in a nation where TikTok was not blocked.

As she perused the pages of her favorite creators, she was unable to control her excitement. For her, TikTok was still going strong. However, a realization began to dawn on her as she scrolled.

Her connection slowed down when she used the VPN, so she had to be extra careful not to break any rules by finding a workaround. She also questioned how long the app would be available in this manner before additional limitations were added.

Arooj was aware that this would not be a long-term fix. Eventually, she would have to accept change. For the time being, though, the excitement of making content, watching videos, and keeping in touch with her friends made the effort worthwhile.

However, realizing that this was only a short-term solution was bittersweet.

As the days went by, she began to think about other options. Perhaps it was time to increase her YouTube investment or look into new apps that might make her happy as much.

Arooj ultimately came to the conclusion that, even though TikTok might be prohibited, creativity could never be fully restrained. Though in different formats, she could still share her oddball moments and cooking advice.

Arooj would relish each second of the TikTok enchantment for the time being, even if it was brief. The world of content creation was too vast to be closed down by a single ban, so she would continue to create, share, and discover new connections.