Even if you aren’t on TikTok, your Instagram “For You” page is probably still flooded with it. But, if you are like most people, you cannot stop scrolling on this addicting app.
For the new year, I decided to delete TikTok. I did this since I found myself sitting for countless hours watching video after video, and honestly getting nowhere. Other than a few laughs and maybe some good recipes (oh, and how can I forget the thirst traps *cough cough* Willy Wonka *cough*). I was sitting alone watching these videos that gave me no real satisfaction. While TikTok was a good time waster throughout Covid, the app itself has turned into a black hole where many of us get lost. Here’s what I gained and learned from deleting TikTok.
- So Much Extra Time
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Time to do anything, extra time to sleep (and I was sleeping better) since I wasn’t up until 1 a.m. scrolling on TikTok. And no, nobody forced me to stay up on the app, but something about it is addicting. Even the app knows this and would have a video telling you to get off the app if you had been on it for too long. I had more time to be with friends and family, and somehow I had more energy. I had more time to focus on school or the things I enjoyed doing. Just over all those hours, I spent on my phone I could put towards anything that I enjoyed that I was overlooking before.
- To Focus on Those Physically Around Me
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Grabbing your phone is always a default move in any situation the second you get bored. And it is so sad to say, but TikTok is such an easy way to escape from those around you and get devoured into the feed. I would sit as someone talked to me and would miss a whole conversation due to this app. What I found is now instead of reaching for my phone, I ask more questions, do activities with loved ones, and tend to stay away from the trap we all hold in our hands at all moments of the day.
- Better Mental Health
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It is no secret that TikTok has one of the most toxic environments on social media apps (at least in my eyes). The second you start going through comments you find so much hate and drama on just about anything some troller can think of. It could be body image, talking about relationships, starting rumors, etc. Reading these 24/7 starts truly affecting your mindset and makes you feel worse. I felt so much better being away from this toxic environment, my head was in less of a negative place, and I instead focused on my own life rather than reading about how some 16-year-old did something controversial. Overall, I felt a lot happier once I had gotten off the app. Many people do not understand what you take in gets reflected through your own thoughts and actions.
- Recognizing Body Image Issues
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The ideal body is something that floods social media everywhere, not just TikTok, but it does not make it any easier. Another source of toxicity is how people talk about the bodies of these young women. I remember vividly going through comments and reading how people told Charli D’amelio how she has gained weight. I could not imagine being Charli and having so many people commenting on my body. Then, I would look at myself in the mirror as many girls do after seeing all these very thin influencers. I would think if I was gaining weight, comparing myself to Charli, and then realizing even Charli is not skinny enough, so how could I ever be. It made me constantly second guess myself and be so self-conscious. Getting off the app doesn’t solve everything at once, but I started appreciating my body more for all it does for me, and not seeing these negative comments made me focus less on appearance.
- Less Social Anxiety
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Being isolated for long periods on end already affects many people socially. And if you’re anything like me, it is hard to start seeing friends again after months of not seeing them. When I had TikTok I isolated myself even more. I could stare at my phone and not focus on the lack of my real-life social interactions and instead, I focused on the people inside the screen. This caused me to have a lot of anxiety when it came to seeing people in person. I would push people away without meaning to just from the anxiety. Once I deleted the app it was not like I suddenly became some outgoing person. I found that I can’t rely on my phone and I craved social interaction more.
Overall, deleting TikTok has lifted a huge weight that was holding me down. It allowed me to start engaging in what I loved, surrounding myself with friends, and it removed lots of anxiety and negative thoughts from my everyday life. While TikTok may seem like a necessity in your life, once you get rid of it, you will see all the harm it causes.