About a month ago, I deleted TikTok and in turn decreased my social media usage exponentially. 

My boyfriend deleted TikTok weeks before I did and constantly raved about his increase in productivity. 

I didn’t believe him. Or maybe I didn’t want to realize that an app that keeps me hooked and takes up so much of my time could be negatively impacting my mind and life. 

After a few weeks of him trying to convince me I gave in. I deleted the app for a few days just to see if it was as beneficial as he claimed, and it was. 

Initially it was a bit difficult being unconnected. I felt like I was missing out on pop culture and trends. 

But I quickly realized that being disconnected from that side of the internet isn’t a bad thing at all. 

I haven’t been sucked into celebrity and influencer drama like I was before. I haven’t been comparing myself or my life to others nearly as much. 

In addition to these mental benefits, my productivity increased and my screen time decreased. 

I started to finish assignments early and spend more time studying just to increase my knowledge. I also put more time into things that I enjoy like creating Spotify playlists and discovering new music. 

By deleting TikTok I stopped spending as much time on other social media platforms like Instagram. 

I keep up with things important to me on Twitter like current events, film updates and some pop culture. But without TikTok, I’ve avoided useless drama and general negativity. 

Of course TikTok can be super fun, but there’s a reason it’s so addicting. 

The algorithms and short videos hold your attention and keep you on the app. The constant negative and almost depressing news can cause “doom scrolling.” 

This is defined as “a habit of scrolling through social media and news feeds where users  obsessively seek for depressing and negative information” by the National Institute of Health.

With the amount of natural disasters, political controversies and environmental concerns, it can be quite depressing and addictive to fall into rabbit holes on all social media platforms. 

I think TikTok’s ease of scrolling and algorithms increase the chances of “doom scrolling” quite a lot. 

While it’s important to stay up to date on current events and educate yourself, there’s no need to watch endless videos and read endless opinions. 

After a while, it can feel quite overwhelming and, unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done by an individual person. 

Deleting TikTok and decreasing my overall social media usage has done wonders for my life and my mind. I recommend social media cleanses to everyone regardless of age. You don’t always need to be so connected. 

Life will still go on and nothing will change if you don’t immediately hear about the latest from former President Donald Trump or the drama between Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez. 

I promise it’ll be alright. 

Take a step back and ground yourself in reality every once in a while because social media takes more energy than you think.