PENNSYLVANIA, USA — "I mean, I don't like to say it, but I use it all day, every day, pretty much whenever I have free time, and I just scroll and keep scrolling," said Jordan Colombo of Scranton.
Jordan Colombo is one of the millions of people across the country who may be looking for a new social media site after President Biden signed off on a potential TikTok ban.
"I used to use TikTok around four hours a day, then I deleted it, and thankfully, I've never been back," said Gianna Travia of Scranton.
Since she deleted the app, Gianna Travia says the potential ban has not affected her. However, the same cannot be said for content creators.
"If TikTok is banned for American creators, I think that would really suck for them because then they don't have that source of income anymore," added Travia.
"I think they kind of try to sneak it into the bill, and I know a lot of my fellow creators, and I were like, "Oh, here we go again," said Erin Jurchak.
Erin Dugan Jurchak of Luzerne County got her start as a full-time creator on TikTok after she was laid off during the pandemic. Now, with the app's future uncertain, she is already taking steps to grow her influence on other platforms.
"I spoke with my team and we really tried to diversify anywhere. I was creating content and really try to make sure that I was staying very present on other platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube," added Jurchak.
As creators like Jurchak prepare for the potential of a world without TikTok, others think the focus should shift from banning the app to creating stricter guidelines all social media companies need to follow.
"It's less of an issue about banning it, and more of an issue, and making sure there is safety and regulations that come, especially for younger children who are especially susceptible to algorithm creating addictive behaviors, and I think the same thing could be applied for all other apps," said Julia Edmonds of Scranton.
The U.S. would not be the first country to ban the app. TikTok is already banned in places like India, Iran and Afghanistan.