Jan. 19—While many were relieved to see TikTok back after its brief disappearance Saturday night, its long-term future remains uncertain.

The app had gone dark following a federal law mandating its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell or shut down the platform by Sunday, Jan. 20, citing national security concerns. Hours later, President-elect Donald Trump announced plans to delay the ban by 90 days, allowing the app to restore service temporarily.

The uncertainty has left influencers to what their next steps might be. Among those are several New Mexican content creators. The Journal talked to some of them before the weekend's events.

Jaeden Gomez

Born and raised in Albuquerque and graduating from Volcano Vista High School in 2018, TikTok creator Jaeden Gomez made waves when she created a dance in 2022 to Lizzo's song "About Damn Time." The dance gained more than 1 million likes and millions of views, leading to Gomez working directly with Lizzo.

Since the video, Gomez moved to Los Angeles and has worked with artists like Camila Cabello, danced at hip-hop festival Camp Flog Gnaw and been on "The Late Late Show With James Corden."

"I was getting jobs to create dance promos on TikTok, so that was essentially my job," Gomez said. "It created a lot of job opportunities for me, and it would create a lot of great introductions with other independent artists trying to get their music out."

Gomez said the app changed her life in ways she could have never expected.

"It's weird to think the app could be gone considering it's such a huge part of my life," she said. "If I didn't download TikTok, I honestly wouldn't be here today. I literally thought I would never move out of New Mexico. Without TikTok, a lot of these artists wouldn't know who I am."

Gomez said the biggest loss she will face if TikTok is permanently banned is the accessibility to a community and opportunities.

"TikTok wasn't necessarily the one paying my bills but it did for a lot of my mutuals, but I think (the ban) will open some opportunities in some places while at the same time taking away a majority of what was there," she said. "TikTok feels like a full community, and it sucks because everybody is so close and a lot of people are so real on there."

Though Gomez isn't sure if the app will be gone after President-elect Trump's delay of the ban, she's preparing for a few different scenarios just to be sure.

"I'm on the fence because obviously we've been told this so many times but with how the world is going this year, I honestly can see it happening," she said. "I'm hoping it doesn't happen, though."

On the chance the app does get banned, Gomez is hoping to transition over to YouTube and Instagram Reels. She also is considering pursing a career in cosmetology, a career she was originally planning on before her success on TikTok.

"I'm on YouTube and Instagram, and I am getting into acting, so I want to do more of that this year and pursue that," she said. "I'm not going to stick to one thing, I'm going to try to do everything at once because that's what I always do."

Gomez hopes if TikTok does disappear, her success shows other New Mexicans that any dream is achievable.

"Don't be scared to pursue your dreams because the only one holding you back is you," she said. "You never know what opportunities might pop out and come to you because they're meant for you."

Mario Sena and Aldin Hamdy

Content creation duo Mario Sena and Aldin Hamdy are the minds behind comedy TikTok account get.the.stick — a page with 120,000 followers that focuses on satirical skits based on Albuquerque residents. Throughout the years, the account has amassed over 4 million likes, and was at the center of attention in March 2024 when the pair sued the state after being charged with impersonating a New Mexico State Police officer, claiming the charge violated First Amendment rights.

The pair do not believe TikTok will be banned after the 90-day extension, but are preparing to transition to other forms of content just in case.

"We're still waiting," Sena said. "It's not over until the fat lady sings, right. I don't see it as a definitive until it's actually gone from app stores and no one is logging in anymore, but we're going to start doing more long form content."

The pair do receive funds from TikTok, but said it is not substantial enough for them to be concerned.

"We don't get paid a lot on TikTok," Sena said. "It's not extremely lucrative or consistent thing, and we didn't get into it for the money. We're grateful we don't have a mortgage or anything on TikTok, but it's sad for those people who are feeding their families with TikTok income."

Sierra Montoya

Albuquerque TikTok creator Sierra Montoya focuses mainly on comedy videos. While she's also dabbled in beauty and dance content, she says her primary goal on TikTok is "to try to make people laugh."

"This is my platform with my largest amount of followings for sure, and the only platform that I've gotten paid from," Montoya said. Her page boasts 212,500 followers.

During TikTok's peak in 2020, Montoya said she earned roughly $2,000 monthly through the platform. However, the introduction of changes requiring videos to be over a minute long for monetization led her to pull back slightly.

"Now, it's more of a passive kind of income type thing," she said. "It's probably a third of my earnings."

If TikTok is banned in the future, Montoya plans to focus more on Instagram Reels and building her YouTube platform. However, she acknowledges the challenge of rebuilding her audience, especially after losing an Instagram account in 2020.

"My TikTok following compared to my Instagram following is not even comparable," Montoya said. "I have like 2,500 followers on Instagram and over 200K on TikTok, so it's going to be hard to work back up, for sure."

Montoya believes TikTok's community is one-of-a-kind and can't be re-created on another platform. "I can't even talk to some of my friends without referencing some type of TikTok or sound," she said. "It's going to be hard to see us come together in a community on a new app."

Jasmine Kingery

Jasmine Kingery, a creator with 22,500 followers, started posting food content on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic to help highlight local businesses. Growing up in Taos, a small town with limited food options, she found bigger cities like Albuquerque overwhelming when deciding where to eat.

"I've always been a foodie, and during COVID-19, I started sharing videos of places I enjoyed because I trusted honest experiences," Kingery said. "It really resonated and helped during a very crazy time."

While she posts on multiple platforms, TikTok remains her favorite because of its unique algorithm. "It shows users what they actually want to see, unlike platforms like Meta that make it extremely hard for creators to get their posts seen without paying for ads or boosting their content," she said.

Thanks to TikTok, Kingery has partnered with organizations like Visit Las Cruces, and her videos have helped promote local restaurants and even her own photography business. "TikTok has been huge for me," she said. "I've been able to direct people to my business and showcase so many local places that wouldn't have that reach otherwise."

With TikTok's long term future still being uncertain, Kingery is already planning her next steps. She's focusing on YouTube and Instagram and launching a podcast with her sisters called "The Sister Shed" "We're going to talk about social media, local businesses and even try viral food trends," she said.

But she admits there's something special about TikTok that's hard to replicate. "TikTok's community is so genuine and authentic," Kingery said. "It's going to be hard to find that somewhere else."

For her, TikTok has been a window into lives and experiences that she wouldn't have otherwise encountered. "I've discovered amazing art, cultures, and creativity on TikTok," she said. "It's been a front-row seat to a world I didn't know existed."

Kingery is also worried about what a ban would mean for creators like her. "Years of hard work, creativity, and meaningful connections could just disappear," she said. "TikTok has been a lifeline for so many creators and small businesses, and taking it away feels like erasing a part of history."