How much time do you spend on your phone? Scratch that, how much time do you spend on TikTok? For me, it was hours. Constantly. I’d be on TikTok while I was brushing my teeth, doing my makeup in the morning, or even washing my hair in the shower. Sometimes, it even felt debilitating. I knew exactly how my time would be wasted: doomscrolling for hours on end.
I tried putting a screen time limit on my phone, which simply didn’t work. Whenever I wanted to watch another video, I’d just bypass the pin.
done with the doomscroll
At the beginning of the new year, I decided I was fed up. I bit the bullet and deleted TikTok from my phone. Full honesty, it’s been hard, especially during the first few weeks. I had muscle memory in my hand from automatically scrolling to click the TikTok icon in my phone; unlearning that particular instinct was marginally embarrassing.
Since then? The experience has been entirely enlightening. I knew I wasted time on TikTok, but I didn’t realize how much time I was truly wasting. All the time I told myself I didn’t have to do fun things — because of work, school, or the gym — suddenly multiplied exponentially.
I had time for my hobbies again. Most especially, I had time to journal.
benefits of journaling
Journaling is something I’ve done since I was a child. It’s something I love to do, not just because I love writing, but because of how incredibly therapeutic it is.
In fact, research suggests writing about trauma or even an upsetting event can have beneficial effects on health. Research conducted by James Pennebaker in 1990 demonstrated a positive correlational relationship between venting — what he called “expressive writing” — in a journal and reduced health complications, as well as reduced levels of anxiety. This demonstrates the positive health and wellness benefits that writing in a journal can promote.
I think that the health of the mind is just as important as the health of the body.
Not only is journaling good for mental health, but it’s also an exercise in self-exploration. As you write down your thoughts, you’ll get to know yourself better. I’ve learned countless things about myself by writing down my experiences and reading them back months later. You’ll begin to see the patterns of your own brain, the way you handle or hold on to thoughts and events.
You can also say whatever you want in a journal! It’s yours, and no one else’s. You can be completely open and honest, or you can lie and dramatize. Journals are for anything and everything you want: notes for class, diary entries, poems, short stories, doodling, math homework, thoughts about your day, and scripture. Journaling is a break from the constant noise of an increasingly technological world.
Simply put, the benefits of journaling are abundant, as various studies have shown. Even if you don’t delete TikTok, like I did, journaling is something you can still take up!
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