The Day TikTok Disappeared: Navigating Politics, Family, and Personal Growth

I TOTALLY LOST MY EDITED EPISODE AND I HAD TO EDIT THIS IN THE AIRPORT THIS MORNING TO GET THIS OUT ON THE AIR.  STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 VERY SOON. IF THIS ISN'T A SIGN OF THE TIMES, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!!!!

Imagine waking up to a world where your favorite digital platform is suddenly gone, leaving a void in your daily routine. That's the reality I faced with the TikTok ban, and it's not just an app—it was a lifeline for connection and expression for millions, including myself. In this episode, I unravel the intricate web of political maneuvers, including Donald Trump's involvement, that led to this seismic shift. Through my own story of navigating backlash and building a community of 3,000 followers, I share insights on the power of authentic communication and the courage it takes to break free from introversion to create a supportive and engaged circle of voices.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as I recount a raw and emotional argument with my father over politics and values. Despite the hurt, there's is always hope as the unwavering commitment to equality, kindness, and inclusivity remains at the core of my beliefs. A pivotal phone call with my daughter brings these values into sharp focus, highlighting the urgent need to bridge gaps in understanding while holding firm to principles of fairness. Join me on this journey as I navigate the delicate balance of familial love and the pursuit of social justice, all while reflecting on what it means to stay true to oneself in a divided world.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Day the Lights Went Out
• 15:44 Clash Over Values and Family

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

The day the lights went out on TikTok. It will forever be such a weird and eerie day for me and I know if you don't listen or watch or care about TikTok, this episode is not going to mean anything to you, and that's okay, because it means something to me and it also means something to millions of people in the USA not just the USA, but the world. So if you want to hear how my night went the night the lights went out, stay tuned. I'm your host, christy Chanel, and this is the love you miss you by podcast. This episode is going to be extremely vulnerable.

Speaker 1: 1:01

I just I have a lot on my mind. I have a lot on my mind, I have a lot on my chest, and it goes beyond the TikTok ban. Okay, yesterday, you know, the whole buildup to the TikTok ban has been weird to me. It's just, it's felt weird, it's felt sad. It's almost like it was done to evoke those emotions, to evoke that sadness and depression and the things that come along with losing something that is such an integral part of your life.

Speaker 1: 1:35

I, as I've said before, made no money on TikTok. I didn't. I didn't put the time in to really make money. This whole thing has felt like it was done on purpose. All right, let's just cut through the bullshit. It was done on purpose. Everything has just been lining up too well to bring back TikTok. The savior is going to bring back TikTok and I'm sure you know who that savior is. That's right, mr Donald Trump, your president and, unfortunately, mine as a person that speaks their mind, on my podcast, on YouTube, on Instagram, on all the meta platforms. Let's just threads Facebook, I mean, add to the list blue sky, clapper trends, fan base. Did I hit all of them? I think I hit all of them.

Speaker 1: 2:38

Everywhere I'm at, I speak my mind. It's just how it has to be. And to give you a little insider to that, if you come on here and you're like the sun is out, the moon is out, the world is peaceful, you know there's definitely a niche for positivity and optimism. Hell yeah, like I'm all about that. That's what I want my mindset to always be manifesting spirituality. There's, there is a niche for that. But if you're not directly in that niche, you can't come out here on social media and just say my day was great. They want an opinion, they want to know what's on your mind. And if you're wishy-washy and you don't really say what's on your mind, they're not going to listen. I learned that a long time ago.

Speaker 1: 3:33

The more I speak out on my political views, the more people listen, the more people tune in. Sometimes it's the wrong people that tune in and they jump into my comments and they like to tell me exactly what they're thinking and at first those things used to really upset me, like I would get so upset, like they don't know. Oh my God, they think I'm da-da-da-da-da-da, and it used to really, really, really hurt me. And then I realized why do I care? Why does it bother me?

Speaker 1: 4:08

I went through the whole shedding the sensitivity skin a long time ago, especially when I realized that's part of the game. You have to come out here and have an opinion and it's going to get strong opinions right back. You're going to have the Trumpers, you're going to have the independents and you're and you're going to have the Democrats and then extreme. So the far left and extremists to the far right. Maga, you have it all All right. Anytime you talk about politics, you're going to have it all.

Speaker 1: 4:41

Once I realized all it's going to do for me is get the comments going, get the streams going, get the views going and I don't have to read them all. It became easier Because not only am I getting a viral video out of it, I'm also getting people that have the same views, that are in alignment with my views, follow me. Okay, so I gain both ways. Why wouldn't I come out and say how I'm feeling, I'll be all right, I'll be all right. And when I did that just yesterday, I ended up garnering enough followers to hit my goal of 3,000 on TikTok. Am I a big influencer? No, I'm not trying to be a big influencer. I wouldn't mind my podcast becoming large and big and grandioso, but I also realized it's not about the amount of followers, it's about the community, and I know that sounds really, you know, cliche. It just does Like oh yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It's true, it's true.

Speaker 1: 5:58

And in the beginning, when I would post, I would just like a comment, or I was kind of shy. I'm a little bit of an introvert. I know you don't believe that, but I am in real life. I am an introvert, unless you know me, and then I'm totally dramatic and over the top. That's what you get. You get the dramatic over the top, christy, but if you know when you're coming in and you're actually trying to communicate with me. When you're coming in and you're actually trying to communicate with me, it's like I'm like ah, you know I was anyway, like, oh, okay, thanks, it was weird, okay. So I had to go through that transformation as well, and as soon as I started to genuinely enjoy talking to people, they started telling their friends. And then they started telling their friends and they are the most supportive people in the whole world.

Speaker 1: 6:49

But you can't just take it. You can't just. You can't just take. You have to give back in order for this community to really work.

Speaker 1: 6:59

So I don't follow people on TikTok that have no videos that are set to private. I don't. I don't follow people on TikTok that just repost other people's videos. I want it from the original creator. So, if you have that and I'll be honest, I don't follow MAGA. Okay, I see your MAGA and I'm done. So there's three demographics that I don't even look at. With that, I do no, follow trains. I'm not like, hey, follow me and I'll follow you. No, I don't, because I don't want to see you on my page if I don't agree with some of the things that you're doing. Whatever that may be. I hope that makes sense. So, because I didn't do these follow trains, these you know repeatedly because that's that's how you do it, you keep doing it repeatedly. My build to 3000 was a very slow build. It was really work. It was work. So yesterday, when I finally hit it, it was I teared up. I teared up because if you've listened to my podcast, you know that I set a personal goal by 1231 of 2024 to have followers on TikTok and 300 followers on YouTube. Well, I'm at 380, no 382 followers on YouTube and 3,005, as of the shutdown, followers on TikTok. So it may not, I may not have hit my TikTok goal within 2024, but we're a month into 2025 and it hit, and so I'm feeling pretty good about myself until we went dark.

Speaker 1: 8:54

So yesterday I was preparing that we were going to go dark and maybe a little anxiety posting. I was posting a lot, I was watching a lot because nobody knew when it was going to actually go dark. The first we got it, we got a viral message that went through TikTok land saying this is going to go dark at 730 Central Time and I immediately was like that's three hours from now. I started letting my friends know, hey, if you're going to do a live video, you need to do it now. Then, as the time clock was ticking, I started thinking I need to do a goodbye video. I need to say what's on my heart, because my heart was really sad. So I did a goodbye video and the load, the upload. Usually it takes like three minutes, two minutes to upload, if that, and it was taking five minutes. So I'm like, oh God, is this the end? You know, it's like. It's like the death rattles happening, the death rattles happening.

Speaker 1: 10:02

So my dad just got out of the hospital, he got head back surgery and so I had some things to do around here and the whole time I'm still watching TikTok and doing videos. And I was like, okay, so 7.30 came and went, I'm like, all right, we're still online, we're still online. The next timeframe that was circulating was 10.30 central time and the final one was midnight. So I was like, okay, so we still have two more levels to get through to see if we're getting banned today. So it's about 745. And I'm like, trev, let's go get something to eat and let's go visit my dad, because I'm leaving tomorrow and I don't think I'm going to have time on Sunday to do this and he's like, okay, so we didn't get there because there was an accident on the road. And yeah, the whole time I'm like check, TikTok, check, tiktok, what's going on, what's going on? And it was still on, it was still going. So I was like all right. And then I saw some of the really like big, huge. So I was like all right and then I saw some of some of the really like big, huge, monstrous level creators were joining alive together and I was like that's cool, that's nice. I wasn't watching it because I was driving, but there was an accident on the road so it took us longer to get to my dad's house than it normally did. So I go in, I surprise him, my older son's there too, helping somebody move house than it normally did. So I go in, I surprise him, my older son's there too, helping somebody move. And Trev and Austin leave for a little bit and it's just me and my dad and we're talking about the TikTok ban.

Speaker 1: 11:37

We ended up getting into such a political debate and I stay away from politics when it comes to my family. I just do. I just stay away from it. It is, I am in Texas. It is a no win situation here. Ok, it isn't. It's like the people that I love the most in the world do not Understand me. They just don't understand me, and I don't know how to get around that, because the last thing I want to do is to have a divide with my family, especially my dad, you know. But my dad watches Fox News like all the time, every day, all the time, all the time. You know. He can say I'm in this progressive lefty cult, but he's absolutely in this right Republican cult. I don't know that I would call him MAGA, but there is a Trump hat on his shelf. I don't know if it's his, but there is a Trump hat on his shelf. I don't know if it's his, I have no idea.

Speaker 1: 12:56

This is not in any way to say anything negative about my dad. This is more about trying to navigate the waters of such a different view of life, of everything, and the more we're in Texas, the more I feel like my kids are in danger of picking up this mindset, because it's literally everywhere the women, the men, the schools, it's everywhere. And I feel like I am this sane person in the middle of this cyclone. And then you start to wonder am I the crazy one? Am I the crazy one that believes diversity, equity and inclusion all matter?

Speaker 1: 13:46

Yesterday it came to a head. It literally came to a head. I like I said we were talking about the tiktok ban and I was talking about how mark zuckerberg's lawyer for meta, his, his big attorney, dropped him and this was the reason why it started. Our conversation started to escalate and escalate and as soon as he said he wanted, he thought Elon Musk should buy TikTok and I said I do not like Elon Musk. I don't like Elon Musk. My my worry and disdain for Elon Musk far outweighs Trump. It just does. The last words that he said to me my father said to me was you are in the small percentage of the United States that hasn't moved forward in the world. You're stuck.

Speaker 1: 14:49

And I don't know if it was a mixture of my emotions about TikTok, my emotions about how passionate I am, about what I believe to be true, or the fact that one of the people that I love most in the world doesn't see me, doesn't get me. I was in shambles. I was in shambles. How do you have a relationship with someone that you love so very much and can't talk about the world. I can't talk about what I do, because that directly impacts his opinion. How do you do it? Because I'm at a loss. I'm at a loss and I don't. I feel like I have to share it because I know I'm not the only person feeling that way.

Speaker 1: 15:44

I left the house. We haven't talked since I left, and do I think we'll talk? Yes, I just think we need that cooling off period, because I'm going to be the one that probably goes back and says I love you, let's not talk politics anymore, yada, yada, yada, but we'll see where it ends up. I don't know. I don't know, but one thing's for sure I am never going to change how I feel about equality. I am never going to change how I feel about treating other people, other humans, with kindness, and I'm never going to stop lifting them up, and I hope you don't stop lifting me up. So, unless that's fixed, I'm never going to be on your side. I'm always going to be on the other side, and I'm not saying that's the Democratic side. I'm saying I'm on the side that includes people, that gives people a voice and treats people fairly. Yeah, so I'm a little broken hearted today. We'll get there. We'll get there.

Speaker 1: 16:53

What I did, though, when I came home, was go on my IG Instagram page, because you know we have no. Well, hold on, let me skip that. As I'm driving home. My daughter calls me because I am so far into my emotions as I'm driving home listening to music that I have forgotten about TikTok completely. I am just devastated by the argument I just had with my 70-something-year-old dad. We don't have time on our hands to play these games, you know, and my daughter calls me and I pick up and she's like it's gone. Thanks for watching.