We miss TikTok.

I’m sure every Columbia student reacted differently to the impending news of the TikTok ban on January 19, 2025. One of the last days of our winter break for us as loyal TikTok users were spent mournfully doomscrolling, dreading when our beloved app would no longer be available. We coped in different ways—one of us deleted the app completely on the day of the ban, around 12 pm (because like a breakup, it’s too heartbreaking to have reminders of what you’ve lost). 

However, one of us saw the ban happen in real-time—opening up the app to this devastating message around 8 PM:

TikTok Ban in Real-Time

Of course, the ban didn’t last long and the whole affair was rather underwhelming… But unfortunately for those who deleted the app, it seems TikTok still isn’t showing up on the app store. So, if you deleted TikTok (like many other Barnumbia students), here are some things you can do on campus this semester instead of bedrotting and doomscrolling.

  1. Go to the gym 

Scrolling on TikTok burns approximately 0 calories an hour according to Google, and I know many of you spent countless hours of your winter break on the app… Now that the semester has begun, use the ban as motivation to get active at the gym and get your steps in. 2025 can finally be the year you get jacked.

  1. Actually talk to people 

Instead of scrolling for endless hours on TikTok, this is your excuse to actually meet new friends this year! Touch grass and socialize with your peers. 

  1. Explore new clubs

Go to that one club you get spammed by on your school email. Demand they remove you from the email list, but find out they’re actually really nice people. Stay forever in your new loving community. 

  1. Do your homework (like actually)

Don’t just replace TikTok with Instagram Reels or (god forbid) YouTube Shorts, this is a chance for your academic comeback. Go to Butler and bask in the smell of feet and stress. This is the college experience: rocking back and forth on a creaky wooden chair in the library while losing your mind over a P-set. You could be on TikTok right now, but isn’t this so much better? 

  1. Sleep

Those eight hours of sleep you’ve been chasing are finally a possibility. No more are the 2 am doomscrolling sessions, this year you’re finally going to go to bed before midnight like you’ve promised every well-meaning person in your life. 

  1. Go to Bwog Open Meeting

You might’ve heard about this incredibly inclusive and welcoming club called Bwog. There happens to be an open meeting this Sunday (1/26) in Lerner 510. Come to open meeting and be really cool and great and all the positive adjectives with us.


Image via Bwog Staff

Header via Wikimedia Commons