Data privacy concerns lead to TikTok ban

Data privacy is potentially at risk, and in order to combat it people will be prohibited from using TikTok.

Recently, the popular social media platform TikTok has been put under fire by the US House of Representatives for supposedly using spyware to obtain people’s personal information. This has resulted in a TikTok ban across various states around the nation. Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a ban on the app on all state-owned devices, and this has caused controversy among TikTok fans and detractors alike.

While many appreciate the effort being made to combat this invasion of privacy, many believe this is not the best way to approach the situation. Some feel it makes little sense to issue a ban that can so easily be bypassed by using a VPN or turning your WiFi off.

People have also been skeptical of the intentions behind this ban. Some believe that there’s likely an ulterior motive behind banning TikTok specifically, instead of all the other social media platforms.

Some have speculated that the ban could be politically charged in some way because of the backlash TikTok has received in the past for encouraging harmful trends or spreading misinformation.

Others think the ban is unnecessarily invasive, and another poor decision on behalf of the

VIEWPOINTS governor as well as other state representatives. States that haven’t banned the app are likely to see what other like-minded states have chosen to do with TikTok, which could lead to it being banned across the entire nation. That’s the general skepticism surrounding the ban, but how badly does this ban impact the everyday TikTok user? Seemingly not much.

People feel the impact will be minimal in the long term since most avid TikTokers are likely to find various means of bypassing the ban.

Some believe the ban is a great idea, particularly in schools as banning the app could help students refocus and improve their learning habits during class. It could also help instructors teach more efficiently as the amount of inclass distraction could be reduced significantly.

However, those who rely heavily on TikTok for income or communication like college influencers, students who advertise for their school through social media or people who communicate through TikTok could see this as a major inconvenience for them in their day-to-day campus life.

While it won’t hugely impact that many people, it’s definitely a bit of an extreme and admittedly poorly thought-out reaction to an issue with far more nuance. Banning a single app won’t singlehandedly save people’s search history from leaking. It’s an admirable effort, but there’s room for improvement.

Cybersecurity attacks are becoming increasingly more frequent as time goes on, and it should be known that there is a wide selection of ways to combat them.

Utilizing VPNs, downloading antivirus software, using multistep authentication, increasing the strength of passwords or maybe figuring out how people and schools can provide higher funds to IT departments could help. To reduce these attacks, it’ll take a number of actions as opposed to just not using a single app.

Equating beauty with health has caused irreparable damage to the dentistry and health care system.

In the great country of America, everyone is allowed equal opportunity to make something of themselves, or so we’ve been led to believe. In reality, it’s not that easy.

Living in this country is like being put in a race where some of the cars are top of the line chargers, and others are Craigslist cars where the only thing holding together the engine is a pack of duct tape and a prayer. If you don’t have the money to afford a good life, then you’re already out of the race. This extends to all aspects of living from groceries, to clothes and even to something as basic as health care.

Not only is the most basic of treatments exponentially high but even those that aren’t even that obvious as health care are crazily priced. One main example of this is dentistry. Dentistry is an essential aspect of one’s personal health and hygiene, and yet it has been turned into an industry driven by price rather than accessibility.

Dentistry is seen as a cosmetic commodity, and this has made it so it’s borderline unattainable for those in lower socioeconomic classes. The kicker is this. The longer you can’t afford the restorative or healing procedures needed for your teeth, the higher your bill will become in the long run.

As soon as you fall off the wagon, you’re toast. If you came from a family that was in a lower income bracket and didn’t have adequate insurance to regularly take care of your dentistry, you are going to be the one paying for it later – which is completely ridiculous.

Dentistry is incredibly important for maintaining one’s health and well-being. There is no worse pain than a toothache, and yet it is one of the most costly things to fix. When did dentistry turn from the health aspect to the aesthetic? Why are there giant Mint Dentistry billboards trying to make teeth sexy?

And why do I have a feeling that they charge based on that qualification rather than the fact that these are medical procedures aimed at improving one’s health?

The grip that the aesthetics department has on the dentistry and the health care field in general is incredibly disheartening to see. Instead of prioritizing the health and wellbeing of others, we have a system determined to squeeze the money out of you by holding your procedures up on a high string.

Going to a dental office when a lot of work is needed to restore your teeth is like receiving a receipt of your worth. It could be three pages with line after line of prices that are more than $100.

The discouragement that someone can feel from this could make them question whether or not they should even care about their health or quality of life if it’s going to cost them a fortune to maintain it.

Cosmetology puts a price on aesthetics which makes sense because it’s adding on to the beauty that’s already there. But dentistry isn’t aesthetics, it’s health care and treating the sometimes sick and injured, and it’s about time the prices start to reflect that.

Across cultures, the idea of marrying and courting within your race is important for the ‘success’ and preservation of races. I couldn’t disagree more.

Racial preferences are, to put lightly, absurd. The idea that a demographic is better off with their ‘own people’ is simply not true. Societies naturally collide, and some relationships are bound to happen.

For instance, in my Sudanese culture we share a lot of food with Arab culture like ‘molokhiya’ which is a plant-based stew. We also intermarry and these marriages are debatably the reason we also speak Arabic.

Even with some interracial relationships, especially marriages, there is an effort by families of both parties to prevent it to happen but they only sometimes succeed.

Am I a hopeless romantic? Yes, not only have I started reading romance books at the age of 10, I have also over-romanticized every crush I’ve ever had since my birthday despite this I know true love prevails a good amount of the time.

A perfect example of this is the famous Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court case of the 60s. This seems like a long time ago, considering this happened over 60 years ago, but it is still very important.

It was simple, they loved and fought for each other, and even the law couldn’t separate them. So why do some people of today’s age believe that others can’t do the same?

Of course, I would not convey this opinion of mine without mentioning that some couples can’t marry because harmful things like emotional and physical abuse may happen. This is totally valid, but wrong as a society to do.

Again, hopeless romantic since the age of ten here, how exactly is it that race and personality types are synonymous?

Trick question – they’re not.

A preference would be that a person is not attracted to people who have short hair, not an entire demographic. Any person of any race can have long hair regardless of hair type. Similarly, a person can be attracted to people that are introverted rather than extroverted. Again, every race has their fair share of extroverts, introverts and ambiverts.

The reason why some people say this is because they associate certain traits to certain races and assume everyone behaves that way. This is what you call a stereotype, which harms many people especially emotionally when it comes to public spaces.

For instance, in my predominantly white high school, my calm demeanor was puzzling to some simply because I did not fit the very untrue stereotype that Black women are aggressive and rude. I was an anomaly to them as a classmate, so I can imagine they thought it was an anomaly to view me romantically because we were not of the same race.

Racial preferences are rooted in assumptions, stereotypes and bigotry. And to be honest I am tired of only talking about them. Society’s next thought should be acting towards making people feel safe if they happen to encounter a problem with their family members or society. The question is who’s brave enough to do something about it.

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