TikTok, the social media app that has millions of creators and countless videos for viewers entertainment. Many people love it, and for good reason too.
There’s funny videos, helpful recipes that are quick and easy to make, and tons of inspirational, motivational videos that help people get through their day. All this and much more can be found on TikTok.
However, as almost everyone knows, TikTok almost got banned from the US, and it did for a few hours until it got unbanned. And this ban got me thinking, and I’m sure others are thinking the same thing: would it really be a big deal if TikTok got banned?
TikTok is good for many things, however it’s an addicting app. A lot of people spend more time scrolling through TikTok than doing literally anything else. Laying in bed for hours, watching video after video, mindlessly swiping through them.
Not everyone who watches TikTok is like this, but a huge chunk of them are. And it’s not their fault. TikTok, like many other social media platforms, is an addiction.
Once you start scrolling, it’s very hard to stop. You tell yourself, “Just one more video, then I’ll close it”, but then keep scrolling afterwards. Next thing you know, the sun’s rising, and it’s time to go to school/work.
OK, that’s probably an exaggeration, but I’m sure that’s happened to a number of people before. My point is, you lose track of time when scrolling, which can be hurtful to your mind. That’s why when TikTok was banned, I started thinking about whether it was as bad a thing as a lot of people made it out to be.
On one hand, yes, we’d be losing a lot of helpful videos like great recipes, advice giving videos, and of course, the funny videos, but on the other hand, we’d be free from the addiction I’m sure almost everyone reading this has.
Addiction isn’t the only bad part of TikTok though, there’s more that can be said.
For starters, just like there’s a ton of inspirational videos, there’s also a ton of not-so-inspiring ones. Everyone has to have come by at least one or two videos telling people negative things, and while some people may be able to just shrug it off, there’s also a lot of people who can’t ignore it.
You may be thinking “why not just close the app?” Well, that goes back to the addiction part of TikTok. A lot of people can’t just close the app.
Maybe they think “The next video will be better” or “It’s just one video,” when really, the more they watch those kinds of videos, the more it shows up on their FYP, potentially making it worse. While it is possible to just not watch them, and just scroll past them and go on about your day, for some people, it’s not that easy.
So the solution? Delete the app. Don’t close it, just to open it up again the next day, but delete it from your phone completely. This helps with seeing those negative videos, and with the addiction you may have gotten, even if you didn’t know it.
You don’t have to delete it forever, but it’s probably a good idea to stay off of it for a while.
