Like many of my peers, I am utterly addicted to my phone. I love TikTok; doomscrolling for hours, avoiding all of my homework and responsibilities, making collections of recipes and edits, and bugging my friends with brain-rot references that lead to blank stares from them and knee-slapping from me.
However, my phone gets in the way of a lot of things. I found myself being less present in group settings and staying up way past the recommended bed time for a 21-year-old woman. Thus, I’ve begun my journey of using TikTok in moderation within my daily routine, and it has certainly changed my life for the better.
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The idea came to fruition several years ago. When I was in high school, I almost entirely gave up my devices during the Lenten season. I would leave them at home when I was going to a friend’s house or to dinner with my family, and I would only use them to send necessary messages, to call friends and family members, or to do my schoolwork.
Honestly, it was a lot easier than I expected.
Now, I’m a bit more dependent on my devices, and I can’t just leave everything locked up in my apartment to stop the scroll itch. But, I can still do my small things to limit my access to social media.
Most importantly, I set time limits on all of my apps. TikTok is limited so I can’t use it at all, and the app hasn’t been opened since Feb. 18. As for Instagram and other social media apps, they are limited to about an hour of playtime during the day. I don’t really use any of these other apps as religiously as I would TikTok.
One of my best anti-scroll tips is to make a time lapse of yourself while doing an absolutely necessary or mundane activity. If I have an essay to write or if I have to clean my room and I know scrolling will be a problem, I set up my phone and record myself.
The time lapse stops me from scrolling on my phone because I don’t want to stop the video and try to make it as long as possible, and it allows me to talk to myself while feeling like I’m recording an aesthetic studious vlog that will be posted on YouTube for the world to see.
I also have much more time for my hobbies. I am the most old-lady-ish 21-year-old ever, and I love doing crafts and reading. When I’m scrolling, I lose precious daylight that could be dedicated to my 90-year-old self. Now that I’m not scrolling as frequently, I have time to knit or sew and grow the creative half of my brain rather than fall victim to brain-rot and the loss of priceless brain cells.
Similarly, my attention span is slowly growing back. This muscle is one that I unfortunately have not been training for months, maybe even years, but the lack of scrolling leaves room for more longform media and the opportunity to sit with my thoughts.
During breakfast, I’ll sit at the table and stare out the window with nothing but soft music playing in the background. In the afternoon, I’ll watch more movies and sports games that I can stay actively engaged in rather than turning on my phone for more stimulation halfway through.
The consequence that I find most exhilarating is the fact that I generally have a more prolific zeal for life. I don’t find myself reaching for my phone during every moment of silence. I feel motivated to change my life for the better. I want to make my life more interesting. I’m applying myself more in both my academics and my extracurriculars.
I will also add, I hope to get to a point where the doomscrolling doesn’t overtake my life again; I want to be able to use TikTok and other social media platforms responsibly because I do find joy in the platforms and I do find them useful for communicating and spreading major world updates. But for now, the “leaving TikTok cold turkey” method is working for me.