In Montana, Carly Ann Goddard is a young stay-at-home mom and a ranch wife. She lives in an isolated rural area and uses TikTok as a way to reach more people. Through posting short videos on Tiktok she can reach 660 times more people than in her small town. This provides her the chance to earn between 2,000 to 6,000 dollars worth of income, an opportunity that Carly couldn’t have gotten in her part of Montana.
However, that might all disappear since Montana is now the first state to outlaw TikTok. They say that it allows the Chinese owners of the company to invade the American’s private data and become a tool to share misinformation about America. This has forced Carly and her family to consider moving to Florida. Taking away Tiktok would mean taking away her income.
Though technology isn’t as omnipresent in Montana as in other places, it has come to change many things about the state. Montana was once a solidly purple state, having one party in charge of the legislature and one as the governor, but recently the state has grown more and more red. Instead of having one Democrat and one Republican, Montana’s Republicans have gained control of the governor’s office and the legislature. In fact, much of the support for banning TikTok comes from the Republicans rather than the Democrats.
The National Washington Poll states that 41 percent of Americans support banning the Chinese-run company, 25 percent of people are against banning Tiktok, and 34 percent of the country isn’t sure.
The debate became even more intense after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted in Montana. Many opinions were voiced.
“We should be able to express ourselves.” Shayla Burch says.
“It’s the most useless app.” Cheyanne Erickson says, solidly on the side of banning Tiktok.
Other people such as Mike Hampton, a truck driver in eastern Montana, and Patti Medicinehorse, a critical care paramedic, have expressed concerns for their grandchildren who are addicted to their screens and Tiktok. Medicinehorse mentions worrying that her grandchildren might copy some of the Tiktok influencers and do unreasonable things.
“They get caught up in what everyone else is doing and they don’t think about the danger,” Medicinehorse says.
And of course, there’s Carly. She started using Tiktok when she was feeling cut off from the outside world, and it has since become her only road to the outside world. While before she had to use money sparingly Carly can now use money without being as worried.
However, that might all disappear since Montana is now the first state to outlaw TikTok. They say that it allows the Chinese owners of the company to invade the American’s private data and become a tool to share misinformation about America. This has forced Carly and her family to consider moving to Florida. Taking away Tiktok would mean taking away her income.
Though technology isn’t as omnipresent in Montana as in other places, it has come to change many things about the state. Montana was once a solidly purple state, having one party in charge of the legislature and one as the governor, but recently the state has grown more and more red. Instead of having one Democrat and one Republican, Montana’s Republicans have gained control of the governor’s office and the legislature. In fact, much of the support for banning TikTok comes from the Republicans rather than the Democrats.
The National Washington Poll states that 41 percent of Americans support banning the Chinese-run company, 25 percent of people are against banning Tiktok, and 34 percent of the country isn’t sure.
The debate became even more intense after a Chinese spy balloon was spotted in Montana. Many opinions were voiced.
“We should be able to express ourselves.” Shayla Burch says.
“It’s the most useless app.” Cheyanne Erickson says, solidly on the side of banning Tiktok.
Other people such as Mike Hampton, a truck driver in eastern Montana, and Patti Medicinehorse, a critical care paramedic, have expressed concerns for their grandchildren who are addicted to their screens and Tiktok. Medicinehorse mentions worrying that her grandchildren might copy some of the Tiktok influencers and do unreasonable things.
“They get caught up in what everyone else is doing and they don’t think about the danger,” Medicinehorse says.
And of course, there’s Carly. She started using Tiktok when she was feeling cut off from the outside world, and it has since become her only road to the outside world. While before she had to use money sparingly Carly can now use money without being as worried.
