TikTok Addiction by Olivia

TikTok Addiction by Olivia - March 2022 Scholarship Essay

Ever since my school shut down in my freshman year of Highschool, social media has affected my life drastically. My high school shut down on March 16th of 2020. Originally we were supposed to be online for two weeks, but Covid-19 cases were drastically increasing and it was no longer safe for me, my friends, and family to go outside anymore. We were quickly put on online schooling and quarantine for the rest of the school year. There was nothing to do besides be on our phones all day since we weren't allowed outside. This is where social media changed my life.

I was constantly on my phone scrolling through TikTok, Instagram and texting my friends on Snapchat or iMessage. It was hard to sit in front of a computer screen for 6 hours every day of the week except, for Fridays. TikTok had me glued to my phone all day and night. I would watch TikTok videos while I was eating any of my meals, during school, during my nutritional and lunch breaks. It was so addicting to me because the videos on there were only 15 to 30 seconds long which kept you wanting to keep scrolling and see more videos. This impacted the way I learned because I would be on my phone all day rather than finishing my studies or completing my homework on time. I would always procrastinate on completing my homework because I'd always want to watch more videos. It even shortened my overall attention span. I have difficulties watching a movie and constantly have to take breaks because I get bored and find myself back on TikTok.

An advantage I do have from this addiction of mine is that there are a lot of educational accounts on TikTok. TikTok is such a diverse app where you can find anything you wish to know about. It was also a very large community where we could all express ourselves freely without judging. TikTok has also given me lots of knowledge not about school specifically but also about the outside world. I was able to pass my driver's license exam due to practice and help from others online through their experiences! I was able to learn and further my education and knowledge in school. There are a lot of tutors who made google classrooms or posted little "hacks" on how to solve mathematical equations that I couldn't understand. Thanks to these tutors I was able to pass my Math class! There were also language tutors who posted sentence phrases or words daily to help you learn a new language. There is even a TikTok who talks about colleges and his experiences and gives us tips and tricks and what most colleges look for in a student.

Over the past year and a half, my addiction has gotten better. I can watch movies for a longer period. Social media is a dangerous but helpful place. It will always depend on how you use Social media and what it can do for you in life. It can either destroy you or it can benefit you significantly. I’m back on track with my studies since I’ve been back in a physical classroom with my teachers. I’ve learned that it’s not always good to be on social media so much and waste my entire day on an app that will always be there. The content will still be there tomorrow and the many days after that. I am very grateful for all the knowledge I had gained from this experience and to know-how to manage my time better and get my priorities set straight. School and my education will always be my top priority but it is okay to take brain breaks and take a look at social media occasionally and it is okay to still ask for help from the internet. I plan on becoming a cosmetic surgeon when I graduate and go to college. I want to give others the confidence to be themselves and enjoy the present instead of gluing themselves to their phone on social media wishing they were someone else. I want to change people’s lives for the better.