Admit it. The reason why you chose to read this article is because TikTok is ruining your life in some shape or form.
For me, whether it was the crazy addiction, my mental health, or the loss of a sense of self, I knew that this app had to go.
I actually always thought that TikTok, previously known as Music.ly, was a cringe app for middle schoolers, like how high schoolers, at some point, used Triller. My little sister would go on TikTok all the time and I never really understood why, that is, until I tried out the app myself around the time COVID-19 had just begun to spread.
At first, it was a harmless way to let time pass. I never made my own videos and I would only go on the app during my commute or in between classes. Eventually being on TikTok for 10 minutes a day turned to two hours, and soon I was making TikToks which consequently became an actual stressor of my life.
Throughout most of the shelter-in-place, I spent at least a quarter of my day on TikTok, endlessly scrolling through the ForYou page or trying to make the perfect TikTok video. Looking back, I feel like I put in more effort into making TikToks than I did into my schoolwork.
Being addicted to TikTok definitely killed my academic drive. I used to be on the app for hours on end, going to bed at near 5 AM and skipping out on assignments. When classes moved online, I never paid attention. I’d keep my camera off and scroll through my ForYou page. I even used to fall asleep during class from a long night of scrolling, and wake up to either a dead Macbook or an empty Zoom login. You best believe that I started assignments on the nights they were due, no matter whether it was a five question quiz or a 10-page paper.
Not only was it a ridiculous life-rotting addiction rooted inside me, but TikTok also completely destroyed my mental health. The content on my ForYou page always kept me on edge. Seemingly perfect girls with perfect bodies and supermodel’s faces, people with homes the size of a mansion, and toxic relationship tips were all video topics that constantly popped up on my ForYou page. No matter how many times I tapped on that “Not interested” button, these videos always found their way back into my sight.
Could you imagine seeing videos like this 8+ hours a day? Of perfect girls or the perfect home, or random people telling me that my partner might be out there cheating? It was exhausting and I started to become terribly insecure about myself. TikTok, for sure, was part of the reason why my mental health was at its worst.
I remember being super okay with who I was or what I looked like before TikTok, but being bombarded with skinny white women with blue eyes had put me over a flame. I genuinely believe that besides me, there are other individuals out there that developed some form of body or facial dysmorphia because of this social media platform.
TikTok made me lose my sense of self. I wasn’t sure what I actually wanted to wear or what I actually wanted to do with my life at some point. The trendy stuff I saw on TikTok became a part of me and it felt like I was faking it and also losing a part of my personality.
All these things started to fester. At some point I just couldn’t deal with the depletion of my mental health and the guilt of wasting time, knowing I could be doing something better with my life than scrolling away through videos I’d forget about in five minutes.
Because of these reasons, I always felt guilty for staying on this god-forsaken app. I knew exactly why I felt stuck where I was or why my brain was too tired to do anything else.
So that’s when I decided to delete TikTok. At the beginning of the Spring 2021 semester, I made the conscious decision of deleting this addictive social media platform, and oh boy, was it one of the best decisions I could ever make for myself.
Deleting TikTok doesn’t really have any cons. Since deleting TikTok, my brain has felt less cloudy and I no longer spend so much time comparing my life or body to others. I’m able to focus on stuff that matters to me and I have more time in my day to do things that make me feel good about myself. TikTok never did that.
Instead of going on TikTok first thing in the morning, I wake up, do a morning routine, make coffee, and walk my dog. It’s really the best trade-in someone can ever do.
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