7 ms·

If the ban ends up happening (seems unlikely that they won't make a deal with a US company before the deadline) gen Z in the US will grow up with a better under

If the ban ends up happening (seems unlikely that they won't make a deal with a US company before the deadline) gen Z in the US will grow up with a better understanding of VPNs and other workarounds.

e9 6y ago
Android yes but it’s not going to be that simple to install it on iOS
- seanmcdirmid 6y ago
  Actually, if how Facebook is installed on Chinese iPhones holds the same, they just need to switch their phones over to the Chinese App Store by setting their region, install WeChat, and then set their region back to the USA. Apps from the Chinese and American app stores can easily co-exist, and worked well for me while I was living in China.
  - Reelin 6y ago
    Apple would presumably be required to prevent such workarounds to the best of their ability if the ban came to pass. (I'm honestly surprised to hear that China hasn't forced Apple on the issue.)
    - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
      That China hasn’t been able to force the issue might mean the USA isn’t either. Geographical blocks are super hard to implement without a firewall, I’m betting that the USA will just be happy if it is off the American App Store and not the other ones.
greencabs 6y ago
Sounds pretty unlikely. Gen z has a notably superficial confidence with web technology and the patience to go along with that. I am an early millenial and we are the same way compared with gen x. The main difference seems to be confidence. We are very confident, but when we fail we are less likely to have the patience to actually resolve the issue.
- vmception 6y ago
  Millenial here, Thats been my experience with Gen Z, technical familiarity, low technical literacy, low patience. Not bad, just something that should be understood. Millenials are expected to be “internet natives” and “good with computers”. This didnt translate to Gen Z linearly.
  - echelon 6y ago
    So you're saying that you think Millennials are peak computer users? And Gen Z users are worse? I wonder if this has anything to do with how platforms became locked down at the generational boundary. Millennials grew up on 90's and 00's internet, where you could download and install anything. It was the most open tech has ever been. Run your own chat software, embed HTML in your MySpace profile, create a forum, etc. Apply patches and cracks to pirated software. Re-skin Winamp. All of it was par for the course for your typical Millennial teenager. Gen Z has curated experiences in the form of walled silos. Less exposure to the underlying tech. Granted, some subset will always be attracted to hobbyist pursuit. Game development, app development, Minecraft mods, etc. But it's not as much a part of the day to day experience.
    - dundercoder 6y ago
      Winamp really did whip the llamas ass.
      - everyone 6y ago
        I still use it.. Havent found a better music player yet.
    - tayo42 6y ago
      Is it only just walled off? I think its also way more complex then it was 10 years ago. there's a big barrier to entry to just get started. even 20 years ago anyone could put stuff on the web. angelfire was filled with unpolished websites, and beginner site could keep up with the average. even big site were ugly and simple,js wasn't pervasive like it is now, yahoo was not pretty. or even dual booting linux is hard on a laptop with stuff being locked down in the boot process. hacking on stuff seems harder then ever if your starting from nothing
Shared404 6y ago
At least one good thing can come out of this mess. That being said, many do have a basic understanding already, mostly from things like evading content filters on school wifi.
- dzhiurgis 6y ago
  How is trusting random VPN in Cayman Islands a good thing?
  - ngcc_hk 6y ago
    And side loading by a normal users for a chinese app. Good luck.
  - Shared404 6y ago
    Everyone has to start somewhere. That's where I got mine. Edit: But yes, obviously it is not a good thing in the short term.
  - nine_k 6y ago
    A one-click VPN on your own VPC is a thing with many cloud providers, like DO. Just choose a datacenter outside the US.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
dheera 6y ago
You don't need a VPN for this. They are only banning providing the app via the app store, so Android users can just download the app directly from wechat.com instead of the Google store. (Sorry iOS users -- you use an OS designed by a dictator. You can maybe try switching to the App Store in a freer country than the US, e.g. Canada or UK.)
- summitsummit 6y ago
  If you think the iOS users and just gonna cry and tiktok's just gonna be used by Android users -- or iOS users are going to suddenly switch -- you are deeply mistaken imho. iOS is a status symbol.
  - scarface74 6y ago
    Yes it is a status symbol with a 50% market share. Aren’t status symbols suppose to be something that make you stand out from the crowd?
    - filoleg 6y ago
      Not necessarily, more like just something that makes you feel like you stand out from the crowd. Whether it actually makes you stand out or not doesn’t matter that much.
      - scarface74 6y ago
        Geeks have been saying Apple products were “status symbols” since the iPod was introduced in 2001. Just maybe people want Apple products because they feel they are better?
    - stjohnswarts 6y ago
      They're also needed to be in a crowd. If you other upper middle class classmates catch you using a cheap ass android device instead of the latest iPhone you could get ostracized.
rvz 6y ago
Or they will just move on to other rivals like Triller, Byte, etc and won't bother with this effort.
stjohnswarts 6y ago
There are plenty alternatives to tiktok.

If the ban ends up happening (seems unlikely that they won't make a deal with a US company before the deadline) gen Z in the US will grow up with a better understanding of VPNs and other workarounds.

e9 6y ago

Android yes but it’s not going to be that simple to install it on iOS

seanmcdirmid 6y ago
Actually, if how Facebook is installed on Chinese iPhones holds the same, they just need to switch their phones over to the Chinese App Store by setting their region, install WeChat, and then set their region back to the USA. Apps from the Chinese and American app stores can easily co-exist, and worked well for me while I was living in China.
- Reelin 6y ago
  Apple would presumably be required to prevent such workarounds to the best of their ability if the ban came to pass. (I'm honestly surprised to hear that China hasn't forced Apple on the issue.)
  - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
    That China hasn’t been able to force the issue might mean the USA isn’t either. Geographical blocks are super hard to implement without a firewall, I’m betting that the USA will just be happy if it is off the American App Store and not the other ones.

greencabs 6y ago

Sounds pretty unlikely. Gen z has a notably superficial confidence with web technology and the patience to go along with that. I am an early millenial and we are the same way compared with gen x. The main difference seems to be confidence. We are very confident, but when we fail we are less likely to have the patience to actually resolve the issue.

vmception 6y ago
Millenial here, Thats been my experience with Gen Z, technical familiarity, low technical literacy, low patience. Not bad, just something that should be understood. Millenials are expected to be “internet natives” and “good with computers”. This didnt translate to Gen Z linearly.
- echelon 6y ago
  So you're saying that you think Millennials are peak computer users? And Gen Z users are worse? I wonder if this has anything to do with how platforms became locked down at the generational boundary. Millennials grew up on 90's and 00's internet, where you could download and install anything. It was the most open tech has ever been. Run your own chat software, embed HTML in your MySpace profile, create a forum, etc. Apply patches and cracks to pirated software. Re-skin Winamp. All of it was par for the course for your typical Millennial teenager. Gen Z has curated experiences in the form of walled silos. Less exposure to the underlying tech. Granted, some subset will always be attracted to hobbyist pursuit. Game development, app development, Minecraft mods, etc. But it's not as much a part of the day to day experience.
  - dundercoder 6y ago
    Winamp really did whip the llamas ass.
    - everyone 6y ago
      I still use it.. Havent found a better music player yet.
  - tayo42 6y ago
    Is it only just walled off? I think its also way more complex then it was 10 years ago. there's a big barrier to entry to just get started. even 20 years ago anyone could put stuff on the web. angelfire was filled with unpolished websites, and beginner site could keep up with the average. even big site were ugly and simple,js wasn't pervasive like it is now, yahoo was not pretty. or even dual booting linux is hard on a laptop with stuff being locked down in the boot process. hacking on stuff seems harder then ever if your starting from nothing

Shared404 6y ago

At least one good thing can come out of this mess. That being said, many do have a basic understanding already, mostly from things like evading content filters on school wifi.

dzhiurgis 6y ago
How is trusting random VPN in Cayman Islands a good thing?
- ngcc_hk 6y ago
  And side loading by a normal users for a chinese app. Good luck.
- Shared404 6y ago
  Everyone has to start somewhere. That's where I got mine. Edit: But yes, obviously it is not a good thing in the short term.
- nine_k 6y ago
  A one-click VPN on your own VPC is a thing with many cloud providers, like DO. Just choose a datacenter outside the US.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

dheera 6y ago

You don't need a VPN for this. They are only banning providing the app via the app store, so Android users can just download the app directly from wechat.com instead of the Google store. (Sorry iOS users -- you use an OS designed by a dictator. You can maybe try switching to the App Store in a freer country than the US, e.g. Canada or UK.)

summitsummit 6y ago
If you think the iOS users and just gonna cry and tiktok's just gonna be used by Android users -- or iOS users are going to suddenly switch -- you are deeply mistaken imho. iOS is a status symbol.
- scarface74 6y ago
  Yes it is a status symbol with a 50% market share. Aren’t status symbols suppose to be something that make you stand out from the crowd?
  - filoleg 6y ago
    Not necessarily, more like just something that makes you feel like you stand out from the crowd. Whether it actually makes you stand out or not doesn’t matter that much.
    - scarface74 6y ago
      Geeks have been saying Apple products were “status symbols” since the iPod was introduced in 2001. Just maybe people want Apple products because they feel they are better?
  - stjohnswarts 6y ago
    They're also needed to be in a crowd. If you other upper middle class classmates catch you using a cheap ass android device instead of the latest iPhone you could get ostracized.

rvz 6y ago

Or they will just move on to other rivals like Triller, Byte, etc and won't bother with this effort.

stjohnswarts 6y ago

There are plenty alternatives to tiktok.