Today in class we read the first part of The Morning Newsletter about the TikTok hearing (linked here). Although I don’t have a TikTok account myself, I feel as though I basically do because of how many I receive throughout the day from Kyle, my friends (2 culprits, in particular), my mom, my tias!!

We started off jotting down a response to the sentence stem: “TikTok is beneficial because…” I unlocked my phone to open the timer, and a text from Kyle with ONLY A TIKTOK LINK popped up. My reaction was… Well, it was rather dramatic. I had to convince my 10th graders it was totally unplanned!

And then, as you can see, even Kyle finished the sentence stem by 2nd period (LOL).

Some observations/takeaways from listening to my 10th graders:
•Most agree there are dangerous elements to the app (“There’s bullying, fat shaming, and stuff that makes you sad.”)
•Many know they’re addicted to TikTok (“Let’s look at my screen time…. Omg 7 hours on TikTok yesterday!”)
•Many believe the benefits – learning; community; supporting influencers and businesses – outweigh the dangers (“No offense Ms, but I learn sooo much on TikTok. Like I love history, but our teachers don’t teach us like….real stuff. On TikTok, I learn sooooo much!” and “If they ban it, people will literally lose how they make money to live their lives!!”)
•Many love all the life hacks (“Miiiiiiss, I be watching them life hacks, lash hacks, makeup hacks!”)
•Many believe the US government shouldn’t be involved in the TikTok discussion (“They don’t even care about us since we’re teenagers and can’t vote. They pretend they care about our mental health but TikTok helps my depression.”)
•Some believe the US government is pursuing the right thing by trying to ban the app (“They’re just trying to protect their people.”)
•Very few knew TikTok is owned by a Chinese company (“China??? I thought America owned TikTok!!!!”)

Today was a good day. I’ll bet I have some kiddos watching for updates on the hearing….on TikTok?