5

Thursday, May 14, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
5
OP
OPINION
ON

A

s the semester winds down 
while the weather warms up 
across the state, it’s easy to for-
get that we are in the midst of a global 
pandemic. But while the pandemic may 
have slipped our minds, it certainly hasn’t 
escaped that of Gov. Gretchen Whit-
mer, who announced the extension of 
her stay-at-home order through May 28. 
This decision has garnered severe back-
lash, both from her constituents and the 
Republican-controlled Senate in Michi-
gan, and has even brought the Michigan 
political landscape under the searing eye 
of national politics. 
But Whitmer is no stranger to sending 
ripples through national politics, having 
delivered the democratic response after 
President Donald Trump’s State of the 
Union address back in February. Now 
she is rumored to be a potential running 
mate for Joe Biden. Recently, Whitmer 
has also been the subject of Trump’s 
infamous Twitter tirades, and has been 
labeled “that woman from Michigan.” 
Beyond her involvement in politics, how-
ever, Whitmer displays an unwavering 
commitment to the safety and wellbeing 
of Michiganders, demonstrated by the 
extension of the emergency order, regard-
less of political backlash.
Whitmer’s approach is one that takes 
the best interest of Michiganders into 
account and is done so out of genuine 
compassion for her constituents, not polit-
ical gamesmanship. Nevertheless, she has 
faced harsh criticism from politicians and 
protestors in Michigan’s capital alike. Just 
because these critics can’t witness first 
hand the catastrophic havoc wreaked by 
the virus doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. 
After all, any issue that preys thousands 
of Michiganders’ lives should transcend 
party lines and amass unilateral support. 
Unfortunately, the political landscape in 
America is so marred by divisive discord 
and blind ignorance that many are unable 
to expand their views to consider more 
than themselves. 
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown 
the ever-widening chasm of political dis-
parity into focus, and, rather than being 
an agent to catalyze unity, it has only 
served to worsen these tensions. This 
is not a time to be restrained by political 
ties but rather a time to come together 
in solidarity to solve the issue at hand. 
In refusing to budge in her approach to 
the pandemic when human lives are at 
stake, Whitmer intends to do just that. It 
is refreshing to come across a politician 
who genuinely values human lives and 
is undeterred in the wake of backlash. 
Unfortunately, these qualities are incred-
ibly rare, the highest office in America 
being corrupted by the antithesis of 
the qualities displayed by Whitmer. In 
response to Whitmer refusing to com-
promise by opening the economy at the 

cost of lives, Trump urged Whitmer to 
“give a little, and put out the fire.” Nev-
ertheless, Whitmer holds steadfast in 
the wake of a political storm, refusing to 
lower herself to political quibbles when 
Michiganders’ lives are at stake. 
Her actions in response to the corona-
virus pandemic prove her a leader well 
equipped to deal with a crisis (namely that 
she won’t urge citizens to ingest chemi-
cals) and demonstrate a selflessness and 
genuine concern for her people that make 
her a great governor and a praiseworthy 
politician. But, unfortunately, Whit-
mer has become the latest scapegoat in 
Trump’s pattern of blaming others for his 
blunders. While she should be heralded 
as having her constituents’ best interests 
at heart, instead she is falling victim to a 
sick double standard present in politics, 
wherein women are criticized harshly for 
doing the same thing that men do. After 
all, how is Whitmer’s approach any dif-
ferent than Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s in New 
York? Sure, New York has more cases, 
but with Michigan still within the top 10 
states with the most cases, Whitmer is 
simply heeding Cuomo’s warning as “the 
canary in the coal mine.” 
On top of criticism from Trump, 
Whitmer is facing criticism in Michi-
gan’s capital of Lansing. Michigan saw 
its largest protest yet, dubbed Operation 
Girdlock, with many gathering outside 
the Michigan capitol building. The nar-
rative these protestors have adopted 
is one that criticizes Whitmer’s lock-
down, saying it jeopardizes their liberty 
and infringes on their constitutional 
rights. These protestors seem to argue 
that, because they personally haven’t 
witnessed the havoc caused by the 
coronavirus, they shouldn’t be inconve-
nienced by its effects. 
These protests have even been com-
pared to Rosa Parks’s infamous protest 
during the Civil Rights Movement by 
the Trump administration. Apparently 
what these valiant protestors fail to 
realize is that a crucial part of the Civil 
Rights Movement was nonviolence, 
which their possession of assault rifles 
directly contradicts. Also, it is impossible 
to equate systematic racial oppression 
to government intervention designed to 
safeguard the health and wellbeing of 
an entire population. Furthermore, the 
fact that swastika and noose flaunting 
protestors are being compared to Rosa 
Parks is a testament to the gross igno-
rance that festers in the White House. In 
addition, many protestors flouted Whit-
mer’s guidelines, not social distancing 
and not wearing masks. 

Whitmer’s strong COVID-19 response

MADELEINE LAPIERRE | COLUMNIST

Madeleine LaPierre can be reached at 

madlapi@umich.edu.

ELIZABETH PEPPERCORN | COLUMNIST

Q

uarantine has left mil-
lions of teenagers, includ-
ing myself, in search 
 of ways to fill their time 
while socially distancing. Some 
have turned to painting, Zoom 
calls, cooking or learning to play 
new instruments. However, one 
of the most popular ways young 
people are escaping boredom is 
through the social media plat-
form TikTok. With endlessly 
entertaining minute-long clips, 
it is easy to lose track of time on 
the app. While it can be a fun 
and creative platform, it can be 
extremely dangerous for mental 
health and body image, espe-
cially with such a young audi-
ence. 
“In terms of its difference 
from other social media, it 
does not stop,” LSA sophomore 
Shubhum Giroti said. “On Ins-
tagram or Facebook, you fol-
low what you follow and then at 
some point, you reach repeated 
content and get off the app. The 
difference with TikTok is that 
it literally doesn’t stop. You can 
spend one minute or 12 hours 
in a row on it. I think that it is 
extremely unhealthy.” 
A unique feature of TikTok 
is the For You Page. The FYP is 
made up of content recommend-
ed for the user based on algo-
rithms that determine what that 
user likes to see. By consistently 
displaying new content, it has 
become one of the most addic-
tive social media platforms. LSA 
sophomore Megan Shohfi claims 
that “it is the most addicting app 
(she has) ever had.” 
If the algorithm is based 
on what viewers like to see, it 
should be things they are inter-
ested in and want to see and 
have a positive impact on men-
tal health, right? Unfortunately 
not. For many people, the vid-
eos that they might spend more 
time watching are not healthy. 
For example, Shohfi’s FYP is 
made up of lots of health and fit-
ness videos. However, she notes, 
she often sees an “unhealthy 
diet culture. The way that some 
influencers use TikTok to pro-
mote unhealthy eating habits 
frustrates me because younger 
girls probably see that and think 
that it is normal. I see things like 
only drinking water for break-
fast and extreme diets.” 
It is hard to control which 
videos hold our attention. Many 
videos on my FYP promote 

unhealthy habits as well. I find 
myself watching them because 
I am so shocked and confused 
about how they are real. What 
TikTok sees, however, is that I 
am taking the time to watch the 
full video. Therefore, more vid-
eos like this appear on my FYP. 

TikTok has a very young 
audience. Nearly 40 percent of 
users in the United States are 
teenagers or younger and more 
than 25 percent are in their 
20s. Many users are in their 
formative years and are at risk 
of being heavily influenced 
by social media. The intense 
diet culture of the app has the 
potential to begin or intensify 
body image issues for all users, 
but can especially affect young-
er teens who are already going 
through a period of higher inse-
curity and confusion. 
When 
interviewees 
were 
asked about the typical famous 
TikTok male and female, very 
different 
descriptions 
were 
used. The typical female was 
described by all as skinny, 
white, good looking, good at 
dancing and usually showing 
lots of skin. On the other hand, 
the typical male was described 
as average and funny. My 
12-year-old brother once said to 
me, “girls just have to be pretty 
and wear a bikini” when dis-
cussing how to get famous on 
the app. 
I am a strong believer that 
women should be able to wear 
and do whatever they want in 
their posts. However, many 
young females are getting the 
impression that what soci-
ety values are their bodies 
and looks. When they see that 
famous females are skinny, 
pretty and happy, they may 
think that they would be hap-
pier if their lives were more 
similar to those famous TikTok 
users. “A lot of famous TikTok 
people are famous because they 
are good looking and seem to 

have fun lives,” LSA sophomore 
Benjamin Servetah said. “It 
seems like their lives are bet-
ter and it can cause you to feel 
worse about yourself.” 
Social media allows people 
to only present the best ver-
sions of themselves. Users wit-
ness beautiful, skinny, famous 
people that seem happy and can 
feel bad about their own situa-
tion. The possibility that any-
one can reach fame on the app 
is exciting, but it also means 
that those who do not get many 
views or likes may feel that the 
community 
is 
disapproving 
of them and that they are not 
attractive or funny enough. 
The app has many fun and 
interesting features. As with 
any social media platform, 
people 
can 
express 
them-
selves and relate to others. 
Even the dancing culture has 
positive features, as dancers 
have found an outlet to share 
their talents. From painting 
to cooking to fitness, TikTok 
allows people to be creative 
and gain recognition for their 
talents. However, there are 
little to no positive impacts on 
mental health. Even famous 
TikTok users have begun to 
speak out about the massive 
amounts of hate and judgment 
they receive on their bod-
ies and choices. Addison Rae, 
one of the most famous female 
TikTok 
dancers, 
recently 
spoke out on Twitter about the 
body-shaming comments she 
receives after being compared 
to a whale multiple times on 
the app.
The app has the potential 
for 
creativity 
and 
spread-
ing positive messages that 
could potentially help men-
tal health. For this to become 
reality, however, users must 
be aware of their interactions 
with the app to maximize the 
benefits. If people stop liking 
and giving attention to videos 
with negative ideas about body 
image and unhealthy messag-
es, those videos will gain less 
traction and show up on fewer 
people’s FYP. The culture of 
the users must change for the 
app to change. Awareness and 
a conscious effort to spread 
positivity can put TikTok in 
the right direction.

The dark side of TikTok

Elizabeth Peppercorn can be 

reached at epepperc@umich.edu.

However, there 
are little to no 
positive impacts 
on mental health

Read more at MichiganDaily.com