I deleted TikTok. Unconventional behavior, believe me, I know.
I initially downloaded TikTok when people were still refusing to use the app because of its similarity to musical.ly and how “cringey” it seemed. My “ForYou” page was perfectly and eerily cultivated to my niche interests. Each video had the ability to draw me in and make me stay on the app for hours. I would sometimes see the guy that said, “You’ve been scrolling for way too long now” multiple times in one night.
Not anymore. After watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix, I immediately deleted TikTok and evaluated my screen time habits.
The only reason I chose to watch the documentary is that the hosts of my favorite podcast, Chatty Broads, talked about it in an episode. (Side note: go listen to Chatty Broads, it is an incredible podcast where they recap TV shows like The Bachelor and talk about many social issues). Anyways, I watched the documentary and my entire outlook on social media and phone usage completely flipped upside down.
The Social Dilemma is a documentary/movie hybrid centered around the impact and dangers of social media use on individuals. I won’t spoil the whole film in case you want to watch it, but let me tell you, it was very eye-opening. I guess a lot of the information that they “exposed” in the movie is pretty much known — including the fact that social media apps collect your browsing data and use that data to cultivate your browsing experience to keep you online as long as possible. Many of the people who spoke in the documentary were executive members of social media companies, and they outlined the ways that they work to keep you online. The film showed men in a control room literally manipulating a kid through his phone’s social media apps. I also was not completely aware of the links between dopamine production in your brain and using social media. Spoiler alert: you can literally become addicted to social media.
I was addicted for sure, but I’m still am not completely off social media. Since watching the documentary, however, I have decreased my screen time from about six hours a day to less than two hours a day. I deleted TikTok, as you know, and turned off notifications for all other social media apps. I am taking small steps to not fall victim to the controlling nature of social media sharks. If you’re interested, I encourage you to watch The Social Dilemma. I am pretty thankful that I did.