By: Alexis Stallard, Online Editor
dreamed a dream of times gone by – a time when I was not spending six hours straight on TikTok on a Sunday. I pinky promise that is not an exaggeration, and my phone’s “screen time” breakdown proves it.
However, the question is not how much time I spend on that clock app. It is why I spend so much time on that clock app. It all boils down to the ever-famous “For You” page, the daily feed on TikTok that is formulated just for me. It offers an endless loop of content that I am practically guaranteed to enjoy.
I think that the state of the world over the past few years has made it far easier to fall into the hole of endless content that hits my funny bone rather than face the ugly truth of reality. Not to mention, the creation of the “infinite scroll” has made it much easier to get trapped on social media.
Letting an eldery pug named Noodles tell me if I have bones for the day or watching someone’s mom try to griddy isn’t the worst way I could spend my time. My parents should be eternally thanking God for how lucky they are to have me as a child. I could be out kicking puppies but they ended up with a daughter who just wants to scroll to her hearts desire.
I am a simple girl: I see a funny video, I like that funny video, then I scroll on in hopes of finding another funny video. No one is getting hurt by me spending hours of my day scrolling on an app. I know that my eyeballs are surely getting bloodshot after a few hours, so I’m sure my eye doctor would advise against my hobby.
I hope you aren’t assuming I watch Addison Rae or Bryce Hall dance for hours, either. I have taste. My time is spent well, laughing at videos that will get stuck in my head for the next week. When Vine was deleted, it left a gaping hole in my heart that only TikTok could fill apparently.
The issue is that I have no self-control, so loving an app that facilitates that lack of control is the worst thing that could happen to me. I try to set limits for myself by saying things like, “I will get off when I get to the next video that makes me laugh really hard.” However, I then bend the rules and say, “Oh, but did it make me laugh enough?” Evidently, despite my best efforts, absolutely nothing stops me from staying up and watching more TikTok.
My issue is not a rare one, and Generation Z seems to have the biggest problem with it. My entire generation’s culture comes from TikTok but we don’t mind. We all may get trapped on TikTok, but at least we’re all trapped together.
I doubt I will ever break free from the chokehold that TikTok has on me, but I will continue to bargain with myself. Then I will immediately break those bargains. I wish that I never would have been peer pressured into getting on TikTok, but now that I have joined the dark side, I don’t plan on going back. I will still spend hours on TikTok, but just know I am begging myself to get off even if I look like I’m having the time of my life.
Photo: Courtesy Photo, Unsplash
