Banning TikTok Is Like Outlawing LSD
“LSD is known to induce psychosis — in people who have never used it.” — Timothy Leary*
Banning TikTok is our new mania.
“The Chinese are using it to spy on us!” “Our kids are addicted to it!” Indeed, the PBS News Hour reports that “6 out of 10 young people want to be social influencers on TikTok,” which proves — if nothing else — TikTok is more addictive than LSD!
Let’s face it: for old-timers like me, the fight over TikTok evokes a strange case of deja vu.
LSD was outlawed in 1966 in California — and in the rest of the country in 1968. And now, almost 60 years later, psychedelics are making a comeback with even Republicans trying to legalize some of them for medical use. People conceive of these substances as tools to help veterans deal with trauma, the anxious quell their worries, and the rest of us discover spirtuality and delight. (Disclaimer: I don’t do LSD myself. I find this moment deeply compelling as it is.)
Meanwhile, TiKToK is driving people nuts.
On January 25, 2023, the senior Senator from Missouri and Capitol jogger Josh Hawley introduced the No TikTok on United States Devices Act to prohibit the Chinese-based TikTok app from being downloaded on U.S. devices and ban commercial…
