We’ve all come across that video on TikTok where someone tells you, “You’ve been scrolling for way too long. It might be time to take a break.” But do we ever listen?
Usually, when I come across these videos, it’s late at night, and I’ve been mindlessly scrolling for hours. I’ll keep scrolling for some time, opting to hold my phone an inch from my face, letting clips of testing out lip oils and heatless curl headbands play while I doze off. I’ve tried to use Apple’s time limits for app use to control my endless scrolling. But I’ve also been the one to slam the “ignore time limit for the day” button.
This all changed when I had to give up TikTok for the summer. This wasn’t because I’d finally had enough scrolling or my family was giving me an intervention because I was speaking solely in TikTok references. The root of my TikTok detox was that I was studying abroad in London, England.
The correlation between quitting TikTok for two months and studying abroad is pretty bizarre but will make sense to most Florida State University students. Earlier that spring, in regulation with the Florida Board of Governors, FSU had blocked TikTok (among others social media apps) on their Wi-Fi. This had never really affected me on campus, as I’d view the apps on my phone plan data instead.
If you can see where this story is going, my international phone plan was incredibly expensive. Comically, even, and often, I’d walk around with my phone on airplane mode to not rack up a ton of time eating into those international minutes. It even became a long-running joke with my friends that I was “off the grid.” So, because I couldn’t watch TikTok on the FSU Wi-Fi and I didn’t want to have a phone bill the length of a CVS receipt, I’d have to go without the app for the two months I was there.
I’ll be honest, it was hard at first. There were days that I was itching to scroll to look at fashion inspiration, see what all the influencers were up to, and see what music was trending. Whenever I found myself even the slightest bit bored, I ran to the app by default.
Trust me, the lack of scrolling didn’t stop me from going to other social media platforms instead. At night, when I couldn’t sleep, I’d find myself going on Instagram Reels to fill the void of TikTok. Luckily, my friends who didn’t have international data plans for the price of diamonds would show me a few funny ones they had seen throughout the day.
Over time, I stopped noticing the gaping hole that TikTok had left in my life. I saw that without TikTok to default on when I was bored, I spent more time exploring the new area I was in. When I had downtime where I wasn’t doing much, I wasn’t scrolling until I fell asleep with my phone in my hand, but rather researching new places to go and what to see. I remember feeling present in my experiences.
I didn’t wholly quit TikTok cold turkey. There were times over the summer when I would travel to a new place with its own Wi-Fi. At these hotels and Airbnbs, I could sit down and scroll. It was these instances where I started to notice the difference in the time I spent without using the app compared to when I had unlimited access to it.
I could be in Rome, Italy with the gorgeous monuments and cobblestone streets right outside my door and the lingering smell of pasta and bread wafting through the windows. I would find myself quickly being engrossed in mindless scrolling for at least half an hour. It would start with a quick search for the best places to eat in the city, and then I would find myself wanting to keep scrolling. Just for the sake of scrolling, too.
It was these times that I had to stop myself and go, “Sabrina, what are you doing?”
After asking myself this question, I soon realized that it wasn’t that I was scrolling too much, but rather I was being unintentional with the time I was spending scrolling. If I had an ounce of boredom or found myself with a bit of downtime, I defaulted to go to the app. I shouldn’t be scrolling because I’m bored. It should be that I want to watch funny videos for a few minutes, get outfit inspiration, or ideas of what restaurants to go to in the area I’m visiting.
That’s really my big takeaway from the whole experience. I didn’t have a revolutionary moment where I decided to ditch technology altogether and live off the grid. I did realize that I was defaulting on the app whenever my boredom would strike.
Now, I know to be more intentional about it. I still love watching silly animal videos, makeup routines, or the top ten best restaurants to eat at in the world. Just now, I know to make sure that I’m fully enjoying spending time on TikTok and not just mindlessly scrolling for the sake of scrolling.
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