The Influence of Social Media by Behanka

The Influence of Social Media by Behanka - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

During my high school experience, technologies have greatly benefited my education. The answers to my homework, tests, and projects problems would be answered in quick of a button. However, during the pandemic, my phone became the escape from reality and the issue of most of my problems.
As I scrolled through hours of Instagram, I found myself engorged by this new app known as Tiktok more often than I should have. The idea of teenagers making funny videos despite such tragic events captures my sorrows. Feeling sad about doing my classes online?---Tiktok; feeling tired of taking care of my family?---Tiktok; feeling exhausted from the workload of assignments provided by my teachers?---Tiktok. It became the get-away space where I learned to swallow feelings without ever expressing them because Tiktok amused my attention. So don't be mistaken, for I was genuinely thankful for this beautiful creative app, yet to what extent did my mental health suffer? As time passed and we slowly returned to school full-time, the amount of time spent on Tiktok has diminished yet reappeared in a different form. So, for example, before COVID, if I were to take a break between my homework assignments, I would fulfill these times by eating snacks, going on a walk, etc. Now, I have shifted my focus to a limit of five minutes of break, which soon became ten minutes, an hour, two hours, and so on, on my phone. With these distractions, I learned to complete six hours worth of homework into thirty minutes and thirty minutes of homework into six hours. So, as one can imagine, my procrastination has become worse and worse.
Moreover, I find myself taking a more extended period to complete testing, writing, and reading assignments during school on limited time. Unfortunately, it became difficult to write in my notebook during my classes due to the lack of practice from using papers and consistently doing my schoolwork on the computer. Let alone remain focused for a long time without needing to take out my phone for my " limited breaks." In many ways, technology has kept me safe, in touch with others, and connecting with people, yet it has severely deteriorated my mental health, especially during the pandemic outbreak. I am currently learning how to re-route my brain to its old ways for a better, more efficient, and more productive outcome of my school and personal life work.