Twenty Four Hours, No TikTok

Social media is a big part of my life. Being in my generation, Gen Z, I've grown up surrounded by many media types, but social media has slowly taken over my teenage and young adult life. I've had phases of my life where I've been caught in the comparison trap of social media. I've had phases where social media has just wasted my time in general. I would argue that the most time-wasting platform for social media is TikTok. 

I remember when TikTok first emerged in the social media realm. It was a dancing app. It was almost laughable if you had the app downloaded on your phone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok especially blew up. Everyone was on it trying to feel a sense of community. We did TikTok dances to ignore the chaos of the world around us. TikTok has taken the world, and myself, by storm ever since. 

I'm not sure when, but at some point, TikTok became part of my daily routine. I'd watch TikTok videos while I got ready in the morning, while I'd eat meals, on every 10-minute work break, even waiting for two minutes for my food to come out of the microwave. TikTok has consumed my life. So, I decided to take 24 hours away from TikTok. 

At first, during this challenge, I just told myself I would just not open the app. I'd ignore it for the entire 24 hours. But I quickly realized that wouldn't work. Reflexively, my thumb would reach for the TikTok app anytime I opened my phone. I would watch a few seconds of a video before I remembered my challenge and I'd exit the app. Deleting the app from my phone was the only way to truly get a break. 

The next challenge I came across was finding myself just getting on other apps to fill my time, specifically Instagram. I'd watch Instagram reels, which is basically the same as TikTok. I realized just how much my brain craves dopamine and serotonin, and how addicted to my phone I've become. 

When nighttime came, I found myself not knowing what to do before bed. I've become so accustomed to watching TikTok videos until I fall asleep at night. I pondered a lot about my phone usage, especially TikTok. Laying in bed staring at the ceiling, I realized I needed to make a change. I need to get my brain back to normal. No more short attention span, no more craving for short-form content that brings a rush of dopamine, and no more wasting time. 

Once the challenge was over, I didn't re-download TikTok on my phone right away. I took some time to figure out what else I could do with the spare time I was spending on TikTok before. I tried reading a book, but reading isn't my thing. I watched some TV shows I've been hearing about and have wanted to watch but never did because I was spending my time on TikTok. I also went back to the gym for the first time in a while because I woke up earlier. It turns out I sleep better without watching TikTok before bed, who would've thought! 

Yes, after a couple of days, I re-downloaded the app. I'll explain why. One of my favorite things about TikTok is people reviewing or recommending certain things or products. Granted, sometimes you have to take these with a grain of salt, especially if this person is being sponsored by the company that makes the product. But if there's a product or service I'm thinking about trying, sometimes I'll search it on TikTok before I buy it to see people's reviews and if it's worth it. This of course isn't a necessary thing to have in my life, but it is nice to see normal people like me talking about things that are helpful to me. 

Overall, TikTok is a time-wasting, brain-rotting app. Do I still have it on my phone? Yes. Will I delete it again? Also probably yes. Now that I've seen what it's like not to have it, I will likely delete it again in the future, and try to get rid of it for good. But for now, the recommendations and entertainment are enough for me to keep it on my phone.