Sometimes You Need to Stop Scrolling

I’m deleting TikTok for the entire month of September, and I’m really excited about it.

A couple of weeks ago, I rewatched one of my favorite television shows of all time: Season 1 of Westworld (yes, just the first season — if you know, you know). I hadn’t revisited this spectacular era of television in the eight years since its debut. I’m glad I waited so long because I forgot many of the minute details crucial to the plot. It felt like I was watching the show for the first time.

Lately, it’s rare for me to become so enthralled with television. After a couple of episodes, I realized why: I wasn’t scrolling TikTok while watching. 

Most of the time when I watch TV, I’ll pay attention to the first 5 to 10 minutes. The second there’s a commercial break, I feel a buzz in my pocket, or I start to get bored, I take out my phone. If I don’t have any urgent messages, I open TikTok and start scrolling. I keep scrolling until I get bored of my FYP and return my attention to the TV. The cycle repeats until I can no longer stare at the screens in front of me and have wasted time half-paying attention to the content I’ve consumed. 

This behavior accounts for 15% of the time I scroll. I’ll scroll when I wake up, scroll on the way to work, scroll when I get home, scroll while watching TV, and scroll before bed. On the weekends, I can end up scrolling for over one hour at a time. My screen time is high, and lately, it hasn’t felt productive or useful whatsoever. I’ve switched this newsletter from weekly to monthly, I’ve stopped posting on the app, and every other video is an ad for a product I’d never purchase. My time is spent consuming rather than creating, and it’s more anxiety-producing than entertaining. 

I’ve become a doom scroller and I’m not proud. Instead of scaling back my usage, I’ve decided to delete TikTok for the month of September, and I’m really excited about it. 

Fun fact: I was late to download TikTok. I first heard about it in 2019 as a sophomore in college but thought it was geared toward younger Gen Zs — specifically, high schoolers. My sister, who was in high school at the time, pushed me to download the app and make videos with her during lockdown in 2020. For some reason, I was still against it. A few months later, I caved, set up a profile, made one video, and didn’t open the app for months. 

In May 2021, I got a social media summer internship helping a company craft its TikTok strategy and decided it was time to get serious about using the app. Over the next year, as I created more videos, my scrolling increased. It was fulfilling and entertaining, and I always knew when to put the phone down. 

In September 2023, I was unemployed for a couple of months and struggled to motivate myself between job interviews. I remembered how much I had enjoyed creating videos in the past, so I decided to start posting content again. I went viral a few times, built a small audience, and loved connecting with people over topics I found interesting. My increasing scrolling habits never bothered me, considering I was simply “finding inspiration.” 

However, things changed at the beginning of the summer when I stopped posting content and set my account to private. This didn’t mean I used TikTok less  — with no plans to create, my scrolling became significantly worse. I’ve started to notice how it impacts my energy, my mood, and my overall well-being. It’s time to put the phone down. 

I’m not going to lie, I’m a bit nervous about being out of the loop. The recent “demure” trend from creator Jools Lebron that’s taken over all social media platforms originated on TikTok — a reminder of the app’s cultural significance. I’ll probably be that friend that asks you to explain internet references. On the other hand, I’m not trying to create a doom-scrolling habit on Instagram Reels, a platform I’ve barely spent any time on. As many thoughts as I have about Twitter, I look forward to only using my professional account to ingest more thoughtful content. Speaking of professional things, I’m looking forward to learning more about LinkedIn and how GenZs use it.

At the end of September, I’ll be publishing an issue about my biggest takeaways from the month. I might end up spending more time off TikTok — we’ll see. It’s time to focus my attention on other platforms.

Thank you for all your support of The Influenced so far. I’m looking forward to continue exploring the culture of content creation, even if it means taking a break from TikTok.