HYDERABAD: Ask anyone how they spent the lockdown and pat comes the reply: Binge-watching shows, creating videos on TikTok, and shopping on Shein. As tensions between India and China simmer, some Bengalureans voluntarily avoided Chinese brands, however, with the Indian government putting a blanket ban on 59 Chinese apps, a large section is being vocal about going local.
Tiktok influencers are urging their fans to follow them on other social media platforms like Instagram after the government announced a ban on the popular video sharing app. Sheetal Singh, @_sheetal.rajput, is a Hyderabad based freelancer fashion model with about 85K followers. She states, “We Tiktokers welcome the governments decision on banning Chinese apps. So personally, I shifted to the Indian app Roposo. We Tiktokers are small time video makers so it doesn’t effect that much but yes if it’s about brand endorsement it has effected us. Also, we achieved fame.
We used to do promotion and advertising. We worked hard for the videos, we made a huge family, gained so much of love from the people and we’re popular, it hurts losing everything in a second. But I believe it happened for our good and making it in another platform can be done, it’s not a big thing but yeah we need same support and love from the fans.” About losing endorsements, she adds, “Sometimes it takes a while to recognise that someone has a ability to get us to believe in our selves. So my next plan is doing some videos on some of the Indian app like roposo and gain a family again and their love.
And to tie that love to our highest , and to imagine that together we can do great things. We need to put aside everything is going on now and reach for what we know is possible,” she adds. “The ban of TikTok and other apps doesn’t matter so much. I did achieve fame and name from Tiktok, but it was just a platform where everyone were able to show their talent. Further, I will post my videos on Instagram, YouTube and other social networking sites. At this point I stand with the government of India and their decision. Considering the reason why India took this stand.
The lives of the soldiers matter more than my career now. I can make a career again,” says Bharat Gandhi, who has 1.5 Million followers on TikTok Neelakanth Bharath of Explore Infinities, a maths academy, who used to conduct live classes on TikTok is not too worried about its ban. “We’ve already shifted to WhatsApp. Only in the initial month, we did it on TikTok but most of them have now joined the WhatsApp group,” says this Hyderabadi teacher.
Even as radio jockey Jane Jayekumar, admittedly a huge fan of Shein, “cried harder” than those TikTok users with a million followers, and is hoping the ban is revoked soon, fashion blogger and entrepreneur Divya Maben likes to think the government wouldn’t have taken such measures unless they pose cyber security risks. “But this impacts a lot of people whose income is from these platforms. Luckily, I’ve only been creating content on TikTok recently and unlike Instagram, I don’t rely on it for business,” she says.
However, when it comes to fashion, a ban on brands can have a substantial impact. “Unlike local stores/brands, you could purchase trendy items at low prices on the app.
You don’t always get the best quality but shopping there helped me cut costs spent towards the content I create,” explains Maben. Going local is the new buzzword, and Manoj Shah, director, Vu2Vu India, who recently launched an online virtual education platform, feels this ban will encourage Indian entrepreneurs to work towards delivering new products of high quality and global credibility. “Banning Chinese apps is an action that will support the Indian IT industry, which is highly capable of producing such world-class platforms. Today, customer data is most vulnerable and can be easily misused by many apps. It was something that was observed during the lockdown where web conferences were hijacked by intruders creating embarrassing scenarios for participants,” he says. Brand guru Harish Bijoor says that Indians hooked on to it will face withdrawal symptoms.”
(Inputs by Ananya Mariam Rajesh)