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Content Creators Express Concerns Over Miseducation in the Absence of TikTok
Content creators on TikTok express concerns over the potential ban and its impact on educational content. Ms. James, a teacher with millions of followers, fears that access to high-quality educational videos will be taken away. NaomiHearts worries that the ban will silence diverse and informative content.
In December 2020, "Ms. James," a public school teacher in a small rural Southern town, discovered that her virtual students were not engaging with the grammar lessons she assigned them during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, everything changed when she started posting her lessons on TikTok. "In a day, I had one thousand followers, in a week I had ten thousand, and in six weeks I had one hundred thousand followers," she shared. Now, with 5.8 million followers, her educational content faces a threat due to recent developments surrounding the popular social media platform.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill that gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, approximately six months to divest its U.S. assets or face a ban. This poses a significant challenge not only to TikTok but also to the content creators who rely on the platform to reach wide audiences and earn a living. Ms. James expressed her concerns, stating, "When you talk about the ban, you are talking about taking access to high-quality educational videos away from people who have used it to enhance their education."
While Ms. James' TikTok lessons cater to students of various age groups, her largest following consists of English as a Second Language (ESL) students from the Philippines and homeschooled students. From videos on subject-verb agreement to vocabulary, she believes that her legacy is to help the world through education and fears that a ban would be detrimental to this mission.
NaomiHearts, a content creator known for her TikTok videos about fatphobia and trans Chicana identity, echoed similar concerns. With 1.1 million followers, she believes that TikTok is a valuable source of knowledge. She worries that the ban will not only silence diverse and informative content but also hinder the accessibility of information.
However, University of Southern California professor Karen North advises caution when it comes to personal data on TikTok. She highlights the potential risks associated with the platform's use of facial recognition and location tracking, emphasising that users may be voluntarily giving up personal information to an entity that does not adhere to the same privacy standards as the United States.
Dr. Anthony Youn, a content creator known for his educational TikTok videos exploring his profession as a plastic surgeon, also expresses concerns about the ban. With 8.4 million followers, he believes that TikTok serves as a platform for education and news consumption. He argues that the ban would have significant drawbacks in terms of information accessibility.
As the debate surrounding TikTok's future in the United States continues, content creators like Ms. James, NaomiHearts, and Dr. Anthony Youn worry about the potential loss of educational content and diverse perspectives. While concerns about data privacy and security are valid, the impact on miseducation and the restriction of informative content cannot be ignored.
Content creators on TikTok express concerns over the potential ban and its impact on educational content.
Ms. James, a teacher with millions of followers, fears that access to high-quality educational videos will be taken away.
NaomiHearts worries that the ban will silence diverse and informative content.
Source: REUTERS