There’s a reason why I refuse to ever download TikTok. You’re on your bed scrolling through 30 second loops of people dancing to trendy songs and complaining about their relationships and suddenly the clock by your bed says “2:00 AM”. No matter how many times you tell yourself “okay, I’ll sleep after scrolling through one more”, you’ll just end up getting sucked in short videos of someone’s cats for another half an hour. Getting notifications about my weekly screentime from my phone is always dreadful because it reminds me of how much time I could have spent being productive or doing something I actually enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes Instagram Reels offer useful fashion advice and provide me with a nice break from my hectic schedule—my love language also consists of sending memes and funny videos—but this addiction of constantly scrolling through hundreds of content could not be healthy.
I found that after regularly going through Instagram Reels, I find that my attention span has shortened. It becomes harder for me to focus on a book I am reading or to watch long hours of films. This makes sense, considering that TikTok and Reels are designed to engage audiences without requiring much of an attention span. Don’t like the content? A simple finger flick will take you somewhere else. Even potentially useful videos on health and cooking are condensed to fit the 60 second time limit so viewers can retain as much information in a short time frame. Though this can be convenient, I have also found that it has affected my focus. For every time I get bored doing school work or have little time to spare, I click on my Instagram app to entertain myself. I felt that Reels have enabled me to procrastinate, not only in academics, but also in getting out of bed and in doing my hobbies.
I understand that I am accountable for this behavior, but it is not easy to break out of this cycle when you are so accustomed to it. I have found that making checklists of things to be done the night before is useful to get me out of bed when I am stuck scrolling through Reels. Though this might not be a severe addiction, I think it is important to understand how these kinds of habits can affect our health and mind – though, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. Sometimes I find myself getting comforted by these videos, and I enjoy making reels with my close friends and laughing over relatable memes, but I am realizing how much this activity has consumed my time and energy. I love you random dogs that show up on my Instagram Reels, but it is time for me to let you go.