I’ll be honest—when it comes to TikTok, I’m sort of an addict. I can scroll for hours on the platform, completely unaware of the passing time. Over my second quarantine in December 2021, it was particularly bad: my screentime for TikTok alone reached over 5 hours a day. I felt like I was wasting away my days after the 3rd day of endless TikTok scrolling. Remembering this feeling, I decided that I would not go on TikTok at all this past weekend. Here’s what I learned.
I did more reading.
With more free time, I was a lot more inclined to read. I got through an entire Penelope Douglas book this weekend, which I had been wanting to read for a long time! I was really happy that I decided to read over watching TV, since the point of my little experiment was to lower my screentime.
I got out of bed quicker.
Usually, my weekend mornings consist of waking up around 9 or 10 and then scrolling on TikTok for 30-40 minutes. This past Saturday, it was really refreshing to wake up and not immediately open TikTok. I allowed myself to wake up a lot slower because I didn’t pick up my phone right away. Instead, I answered some texts and then logged onto Twitter to see the news.
I was more productive.
With TikTok out of sight and out of mind, I was able to be a lot more productive! I had lots of homework and studying to do this weekend, so I knew that getting rid of TikTok would be helpful. I got a lot of homework done on Saturday, which is normally my lazy day. I even squeezed in time for a workout! It’s always the best feeling when you complete all your tasks.
I interacted with my friends more.
Without TikTok, I got out of bed a lot quicker, which meant I had more time to spend with my roommates! Normally, we hang out at our kitchen table and catch up on the weekends, so it was nice to be able to do that while also having time to be productive in other areas. Normally, I would have stayed in my room tile about 11, scrolling away. But, I didn’t do that on Saturday, and it was so nice to have a filling breakfast with my friends!
I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.
Sometimes, I feel like I’m missing out on what’s going on in the world if I don’t go on social media. While this wasn’t an all-out social media ban, eliminating TikTok didn’t make me feel like I had been isolated from the world. It was refreshing, since that’s always my rationale when scrolling on the app. This weekend made me realize that TikTok can be overwhelming, always making you feel like there are experiences you’re missing, even though you’re already doing your best in life!
After a weekend without TikTok, I’m confident that I can significantly bring down my screentime. I don’t foresee that I’ll delete the app in the near future, but I am going to actively work to make sure that I don’t waste my days on the platform. In the end, the world we’re seeing on TikTok can only truly be experienced if I get out of bed! Although it’s hard, I encourage you to try and cut down on your screen time too. You may see the same benefits I did!