As you may have seen on TikTok, there is a current trend of “bedazzling” your everyday items. Everything from lip glosses and phone cases to skincare and even staplers.
I am obsessed with them.
I’m not sure about everyone else, but I know I’m definitely on my phone way more than I’d like to admit. What started as a quick scroll between classes somehow turns into hours of mindless doomscrolling. The worst part is, it doesn’t even help me relax; it just drains me.
This obsession with bedazzling even began while coming across a TikTok of a bedazzling kit. I clicked on the shop link, and then it did what TikTok does. Push it in your face a million times until you eventually crack and buy it. These kits are also sold on TikTok Shop, Amazon, and at some craft stores, like Michaels.
But here’s the thing: it actually worked. So, why is this getting me off my phone?
If you were like me at all when you were younger, you loved crafts. As you got older, crafts got more expensive, more elaborate, and harder to store in your small, old, college apartment. Obviously, this made me so excited to be able to have something to do with my hands, other than doomscrolling over and over again to stimulate my brain. I started on a Monday, and by Friday, I might as well have started to bedazzle the walls. For the first time in a while, I had something to do that didn’t involve staring at a screen. It sounds simple, but having something physical to focus on, such as placing each tiny gem, planning out designs, and watching something slowly come together, was way more satisfying than refreshing my phone for the hundredth time.
It also perfectly fits our (let’s be real) very short attention spans. You don’t have to commit to a huge project. You can pick it up, place a few gems, and put it down whenever. But at the same time, it’s engaging enough to keep you hooked for hours without even realizing it. I started on a Monday, just planning to decorate my cute lip gloss cap. By Friday, I was actively looking around my apartment for anything else I could cover in rhinestones. At this point, nothing is safe.
More than anything, though, it’s been a reminder that not all stimulation has to come from a screen. Having something to do with your hands, something creative and a little mindless, in the best way, feels like a reset. It gives your brain a break while still keeping it engaged, something doomscrolling definitely doesn’t do.
So if you’ve been feeling stuck in the endless scroll cycle, this might be your sign. Maybe it’s bedazzling, maybe it’s something else, but finding a small, hands-on hobby could be exactly what you need to finally put your phone down, or at least for a little while.