I have recently celebrated my 2-year anniversary of deleting TikTok from my phone. Yes, you read that correctly. I DO NOT have TikTok downloaded on my cellular device, and I DO NOT plan on re-downloading it any time soon, or quite frankly, EVER again. So, I’m here to tell you why I have chosen this path for myself and what I have learned along the way. Who knows…maybe by the end of this article, you will be inspired to start a TikTok cleanse too!
Now, before you jump to conclusions about me, I would like to clarify a few things. NO, I do not think I am better than everyone else because of this. In fact, those of you reading this who have TikTok on your phones are probably much cooler than I am, let’s be honest. And YES, I still partake in doom-scrolling, who doesn’t? BUT, there’s one thing I am certain of: TikTok is ANNOYING!!!!Â
Why I Deleted TikTok
You know that feeling when you wake up at 8:00 a.m. and you’re excited that you woke up early and can have a great start to the day, and then you roll over and check your phone and all of a sudden it’s 11:00 a.m. and you realize you’ve laid in bed for 3 hours scrolling on TikTok? Or when you’re sitting down to study for an exam you have tomorrow, but first you just need to relax on your phone for a little and suddenly a “little” turns into 2 hours and it’s 10 p.m. and you decide sleep is more important than studying and you’ve wasted your night by doom-scrolling? OR…when you’ve finally mastered your nighttime routine, so you’re in bed by 10 p.m. ready for a full 8 hours of sleep before class tomorrow, but, OH NO! It happened again! It’s 1:00 in the morning and you have a headache from the blue light burning a hole in your eyes that were so tired just a moment ago. Perhaps this is a niche experience (or I just have a problem) but I could not escape this toxic cycle no matter how hard I tried. “Just set a time limit for TikTok!” Obviously, as any sane person would do, I would bypass the app limit. “Put your phone in another room when you need to focus!” Sure, only I would just walk into the other room, grab my phone, and begin the cycle! “Replace the scrolling with exercise!” Easy, I’ll watch TikTok on my walk. See, now, how I could find this app annoying? Clearly, something had to give. I battled with this idea for a while before deleting it, because I just figured I would re-download it, but, luckily for me, it did in fact do the trick.Â
It took me a couple of months to get used to feeling like a millennial that just “can’t keep up with the kids these days.” The number of conversations I’ve had to endure with my friends talking about TikTok trends is innumerable. I mean, seriously, have you ever noticed how often people talk about this app? “Have you seen that trend where…Can we make that one TikTok that’s like…Go open the TikTok I just sent you…Did you see (insert creator’s name) is pregnant?” And then, when I dare to utter the words “I don’t have TikTok,” I am met with audible gasps and “NO WAY,” and the occasional “Wow, I wish I could do that, I’m honestly jealous,” which totally makes us all sound like addicts that are all addicted to the same drug and only a few of us are courageous enough to save ourselves.Â
I would be lying if I said I never doom-scroll anymore or that I don’t sometimes stay in bed longer than I should because I am absorbed in my phone. Instagram Reels has taken over in that regard. However, I don’t scroll nearly as long as I used to, and I can confidently say that deleting TikTok has made significant improvements in my life.
What I Have Learned Since
I have learned that there is a lot more to life than TikTok, and I mean that in more than one sense. There is more to life than constantly updating your story with going-out posts, day-in-my-life’s, watching your favorite creators renovate their massive houses, mukbangs of those strangely realistic fruit pastries, and staying on top of every trend – because how embarrassing would it be to not know every AI brainrot meme that surfaces the internet! I have learned that because TikTok fills your mind with so much information, by the end of the day, you are mentally exhausted and unwilling to take time to fulfill the needs your body requires. There is so much to discover in those little pockets of life that are usually filled with endless doom-scrolling. I have found that filling those pockets with hobbies that I love has brought me so much peace. I find myself reading and discovering genres and TV shows I never would’ve thought to indulge in before. I spend time with my friends so much more often and have expanded my palette for activities outside of school. I cook extravagant meals for nobody and for no reason other than the fact that I love to cook and it is something that fills me with joy. I have chosen to be more intentional with my time and to find peace in the absence of noise rather than filling it with more chaos. So I urge you, if you feel as stuck as I did two years ago, delete the chaos from your life. I promise, something as insignificant as deleting an app on your phone is more fulfilling than any TikTok trend could be.