Carly Ann Goddard, a 22-year-old stay-at-home mom, drives for a long time on the road, passing multiple species of animals on farms grazing just to get to a grocery store. She thinks about her future life and how it is going to change. She sighs, taking in the smell of the state she is in, Montana. She wonders if she is ever again going to be this relaxed given the unexpected events she is experiencing.
Goddard is a social media influencer on TikTok, in which she uploads a few videos a week showing her life with her husband, a rancher, and her son in Montana. She has an audience of approximately 99,000 people from all over the world, which is around 660 times the population of her town. She earns $2,000 to $6,000 a month through sponsored content. It is not just about the money, she also develops relationships and business partnerships with different people. Although the town she lives in is rural and isolated, she is able to make content and share it with the world.
Goddard and many people in Montana are happy with their lives as TikTok influencers, but they are all now concerned about their future. Montana has just become the very first state to ban TikTok, which causes a heated debate not only in the state but in the whole country. It started when Montanans spotted a Chinese spy balloon in the sky 4 months ago in February.
They are worried over the possibility that TikTok’s Chinese founder will gather up Americans’ private data and become a font of anti-American propaganda. The bill’s lead sponsor, state Sen. Shelley Vance (R), stated to a Washington Post journalist that the act of banning TikTok would put “an end to China’s surveillance operation in Montana.”
Many people are against this bill of banning TikTok. Goddard says to the Washington Post, “I feel like I have found my purpose. I wake up every morning, loving that I do this, loving that I get to stay home with my son… It’s built my confidence.” She has shown that TikTok not only benefits her child by being able to spend more time with him but also benefits her.
Goddard experimented with TikTok when she was depressed and isolated in her small rural town. She says that she, in the beginning, did not know that she would have an impact on so many people. From then on, TikTok has been her bridge to the outside world.
People are going back to the First Amendment, saying that the ban is violating their rights, such as their freedom of speech. Shayla Burch, 26, of Belgrade, states to the Washington Post that the ban is “a breach of our freedom.”
“We should be able to express ourselves,” Burch states. “It’s a coping thing. Please don’t take that away.”
The new bill has made Goddard and her husband reconsider their life plans. They are putting their plans of expanding their family on hold and are already thinking of moving to Florida, even though the ban does not go into effect until a year later.
Meanwhile, Cheyanne Erikson, 23, is in favor of the TikTok ban. She says to a Washington Post journalist, “I do believe it’s something that’s used to watch over us, and it’s the most useless app ever.” she shares.
Hazel Mckay, 23, comments to a Washington Post journalist that he got rid of TikTok because he got worried of it invading his privacy and its ability to access his phone’s contacts and personal search history.
Montana has been changing immensely and technology is driving a lot of it. During the pandemic, digital nomads moved to this state, greatly increasing housing prices and a sense of anonymity in places that used to be small towns. According to a March analysis by real estate firm Boulder Home Source, home prices have increased 79 percent in the last 5 years.
Bozeman, a city in Montana, grew greatly these past few years because remote workers have moved from California looking for more space and a relaxing lifestyle. It causes locals who cannot afford to live there anymore to move away.
Mike Dennison, a political reporter in Helena, shares with a Washington Post journalist that the resentment toward outsiders has greatly intensified. Montanans are annoyed at the immense amount of people coming into their state and causing prices to rise. “Montana used to be a place where incomes weren’t great but the cost of living was low. Now, you still don’t get paid that much, and it’s super expensive to live here.”
It is not just the cost of living that has changed in Montana. This state used to be solidly purple, a mix of Democratic and Republican; they elected governors of one party and gave the other party control over the state legislature. Now, the state is starting to turn red and it is only the second time in the past 75 years that the GOP has such a vast majority in which these lawmakers outnumber the Democrats 2 to 1. In an interview with the Montana Free Press, people described the popularity of Trump, attacks against the Democratic party, and the Covid-19 pandemic’s academic fallout as some reasons for this result. Support for the TikTok ban is higher among Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party than among Democrats and Democratic leaners (60% vs. 43%). As the Republican Party changes from a party focused on individual liberty and limits on government power to a party that embraces government control more, it is reversing many of its previous stances on free speech.
It can be hard to decide if the bill is considered right or wrong when people are so divided in their opinions. According to the national Washington Post poll in March, 41 percent of Americans support banning TikTok, 25 percent are against it, and 34 percent are unsure.
Because TikTok is such an important role in Goddard’s life, she has taken a side in this debate. However, she has also gotten multiple comments from haters calling her a “communist” and blaming her for “ruining” the state she lives in.
TikTok has also impacted children’s lives too. Both Mike Hampton in Hardin, 58, and Patti Medicinehorse, a clinical-care paramedic in Big Horn County, 62, commented to a Washington Post journalist saying that they approve of the ban because of their grandchildren. Hampton is worried about his grandchildren who are glued to TikTok “to the point of distraction.” Medicinehorse says that she is concerned that TikTok is a bad influence on them and they will imitate a viral challenge that will end up with bad consequences.
Through all this drama, it can be difficult to know what will happen next and if the bill will continue or it will be taken out. But what is clear is that the conversation is only going to ramp up.
Goddard is a social media influencer on TikTok, in which she uploads a few videos a week showing her life with her husband, a rancher, and her son in Montana. She has an audience of approximately 99,000 people from all over the world, which is around 660 times the population of her town. She earns $2,000 to $6,000 a month through sponsored content. It is not just about the money, she also develops relationships and business partnerships with different people. Although the town she lives in is rural and isolated, she is able to make content and share it with the world.
Goddard and many people in Montana are happy with their lives as TikTok influencers, but they are all now concerned about their future. Montana has just become the very first state to ban TikTok, which causes a heated debate not only in the state but in the whole country. It started when Montanans spotted a Chinese spy balloon in the sky 4 months ago in February.
They are worried over the possibility that TikTok’s Chinese founder will gather up Americans’ private data and become a font of anti-American propaganda. The bill’s lead sponsor, state Sen. Shelley Vance (R), stated to a Washington Post journalist that the act of banning TikTok would put “an end to China’s surveillance operation in Montana.”
Many people are against this bill of banning TikTok. Goddard says to the Washington Post, “I feel like I have found my purpose. I wake up every morning, loving that I do this, loving that I get to stay home with my son… It’s built my confidence.” She has shown that TikTok not only benefits her child by being able to spend more time with him but also benefits her.
Goddard experimented with TikTok when she was depressed and isolated in her small rural town. She says that she, in the beginning, did not know that she would have an impact on so many people. From then on, TikTok has been her bridge to the outside world.
People are going back to the First Amendment, saying that the ban is violating their rights, such as their freedom of speech. Shayla Burch, 26, of Belgrade, states to the Washington Post that the ban is “a breach of our freedom.”
“We should be able to express ourselves,” Burch states. “It’s a coping thing. Please don’t take that away.”
The new bill has made Goddard and her husband reconsider their life plans. They are putting their plans of expanding their family on hold and are already thinking of moving to Florida, even though the ban does not go into effect until a year later.
Meanwhile, Cheyanne Erikson, 23, is in favor of the TikTok ban. She says to a Washington Post journalist, “I do believe it’s something that’s used to watch over us, and it’s the most useless app ever.” she shares.
Hazel Mckay, 23, comments to a Washington Post journalist that he got rid of TikTok because he got worried of it invading his privacy and its ability to access his phone’s contacts and personal search history.
Montana has been changing immensely and technology is driving a lot of it. During the pandemic, digital nomads moved to this state, greatly increasing housing prices and a sense of anonymity in places that used to be small towns. According to a March analysis by real estate firm Boulder Home Source, home prices have increased 79 percent in the last 5 years.
Bozeman, a city in Montana, grew greatly these past few years because remote workers have moved from California looking for more space and a relaxing lifestyle. It causes locals who cannot afford to live there anymore to move away.
Mike Dennison, a political reporter in Helena, shares with a Washington Post journalist that the resentment toward outsiders has greatly intensified. Montanans are annoyed at the immense amount of people coming into their state and causing prices to rise. “Montana used to be a place where incomes weren’t great but the cost of living was low. Now, you still don’t get paid that much, and it’s super expensive to live here.”
It is not just the cost of living that has changed in Montana. This state used to be solidly purple, a mix of Democratic and Republican; they elected governors of one party and gave the other party control over the state legislature. Now, the state is starting to turn red and it is only the second time in the past 75 years that the GOP has such a vast majority in which these lawmakers outnumber the Democrats 2 to 1. In an interview with the Montana Free Press, people described the popularity of Trump, attacks against the Democratic party, and the Covid-19 pandemic’s academic fallout as some reasons for this result. Support for the TikTok ban is higher among Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party than among Democrats and Democratic leaners (60% vs. 43%). As the Republican Party changes from a party focused on individual liberty and limits on government power to a party that embraces government control more, it is reversing many of its previous stances on free speech.
It can be hard to decide if the bill is considered right or wrong when people are so divided in their opinions. According to the national Washington Post poll in March, 41 percent of Americans support banning TikTok, 25 percent are against it, and 34 percent are unsure.
Because TikTok is such an important role in Goddard’s life, she has taken a side in this debate. However, she has also gotten multiple comments from haters calling her a “communist” and blaming her for “ruining” the state she lives in.
TikTok has also impacted children’s lives too. Both Mike Hampton in Hardin, 58, and Patti Medicinehorse, a clinical-care paramedic in Big Horn County, 62, commented to a Washington Post journalist saying that they approve of the ban because of their grandchildren. Hampton is worried about his grandchildren who are glued to TikTok “to the point of distraction.” Medicinehorse says that she is concerned that TikTok is a bad influence on them and they will imitate a viral challenge that will end up with bad consequences.
Through all this drama, it can be difficult to know what will happen next and if the bill will continue or it will be taken out. But what is clear is that the conversation is only going to ramp up.
