A couple of weeks back, I set aside the weekend for myself to be productive- the tasks left unfinished from the prior week hung over my head, and I went into the new year intending to resolve my laziness. Yet, my books remained unopened on my nightstand, my bedroom floor still untidy and littered with mess, and a bounty of tasks were left unchecked on my to-do list. I look back on that weekend and attribute the whopping 3.5 hours spent on TikTok daily as the source of my inactivity.

As far back as March 2024, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could allow a ban of the popular social media site, TikTok has been brought to the forefront of many people’s thoughts, and various debates about what will become of the app find their way into conversations. As I watched my productivity and creativity dwindle, I started to feel that this ban wouldn’t be so bad. 

Though the Supreme Court discussed the ban to address the concern of security threats posed by the app’s Chinese ownership, there are additional benefits to be reaped from the potential ban of the app.

An article from Yale Medicine notes multiple studies that found TikTok to be a cause behind issues in mental health among youths, such as “cyberbullying-related depression, body image and disordered eating behaviors, and poor sleep quality.” Even with these negatives, the app’s strategic algorithm makes it hard to put down for many. 

“The infinite scroll and variable reward pattern of TikTok likely increase the addictive quality of the app as they may induce a flow-like state for users that is characterized by a high degree of focus and productivity at the task at hand,” states an article from Brown University. So, even when TikTok has been found to increase stress and lower productivity, its users are drawn in and glued to their feed. 

As the conversation about TikTok gets moving, many avid users admit they wish they could get off the app, and would benefit from its removal, forcing them to use their time in other ways. 

“Sometimes I almost wish it would get banned, so I could focus on my life more. It’s definitely a distraction,” North Penn junior, Megan Barthelmes, said. 

After talking to others about their opinions on the TikTok ban, my own opinion became increasingly clear in my mind: I also wanted to get off TikTok and was hopeful that its removal from my phone would provide some of the benefits I had researched. To find out first-hand how life would be with a ban on the app, I made the commitment to delete the app for a full seven days.

The first day without TikTok stood to show how addicted I had been to the app and hadn’t even noticed. Countless times throughout the day, I reached for my phone without even thinking twice and went to open TikTok like a muscle-memorized habit, and each of those times brought me back into reality, whereas before, I was opening up to spend hours online, completely zoned out. It was in the middle of doing schoolwork, or amid conversations with friends, or while I was reading books that I was reaching for TikTok. This allowed me to reflect on exactly how much TikTok had distracted me from my hobbies, passions, and real life. 

Overcoming the compulsion of mindless scrolling was a challenge, but once it had passed, I recognized the value of my time. My day felt infinitely freer, as the hours I had wasted watching 15-second videos were now opening up slots of time for me to put to better use. 

Throughout my week without TikTok, I’ve finished the book I meant to read forever, started picking up my old hobbies like scrapbooking again, and was on top of all of my work, leading to a weight lifted off of my shoulders, as I’ve been less daunted by my to-do list. 

Most importantly, I’m more engaged throughout my day. The constant comparison to the lives of influencers has been left in the past, and my full attention has been given to the people in my real life as opposed to on my phone screen. Tied all together, the benefits outweighed the initial boredom without the app. Following my self-challenge of deleting TikTok for a week, I decided to keep the app gone for good. The Supreme Court continues to debate the ban on the app, but banning the app for ourselves has much to offer.