On Jan. 19, millions of Americans around the world were mourning. 

 From people calling 911, to breaking down crying on their bedroom floors, it was as if the world was ending. If you were to tell this story to someone outside of America, they would probably assume this behavior was caused by a horrible incident that rocked our country. This was not the case here, however. Instead, millions of people were more than devastated because of the loss of one app: TikTok. Since seeing the reactions to the very short-lived TikTok ban, I am more than concerned and highly convinced that this app is ruling over many of its users’ lives. 

I remember when TikTok became super popular about the time I entered the 7th grade. After hearing all of the rave about it in school, I decided to get it and see what it was about. Little did I know, I would soon be hooked. I found myself wasting nearly two-three hours just scrolling. Not only that, but my connections with others started to slowly decline as I found myself always resorting to this app for comfort. At first, I thought this was just something I dealt with; however, as I started to look around I realized how all of my peers around me were acting the same way: sucked into the light of their screens… “living” on their phone instead of living their lives. 

Before the TikTok ban was even established, statistics proved how people were slowly creeping their way into addiction. According to Exploding Topics, the average TikTok user spent 23 hours and 30 minutes on the app a week. Many have shared about how concerned they are about this information. A worried mother in Connecticut perfectly describes this issue when she wrote,“My daughter lives on Tiktok.” Although we hate to admit it, this is how millions in our world are today–eating, living, and depending on TikTok. 

This idea was even more evident whenever TikTok was banned. Within the span of just 13 hours, people were freaking out about losing it– saying that they were going to “move countries” and “go to their grave” as a response to not having it. Some even took the most drastic of measures, when they were willing to spend $50,000 on a used phone that still had the app on their phone. 

I don’t know about anyone else, but for me, all of this information is more than frightening. The more we become accustomed to this way of living, the more we deprive ourselves of our capabilities and hinder ourselves from living an abundant life. 

Now I understand how many would disagree with me. A lot of people believe that I’m just a “hater” or overreacting. This is far from the truth, however. I don’t believe that TikTok is “evil” nor think that it is necessary for a ban. What I strongly affirm is that people need to know that there should be a balance in spending time on social media and spending time enjoying life. One of the biggest lies I feel like people believe is that we always have time. “Oh yeah, I can put that off for later” is a saying that many (including myself) have lived by. Yet, the truth is that time is running out day by day, and the question is how, exactly, will we spend it. Will we spend our time enjoying moments with our loved ones, living as a light for others, or doing the things we love to do? Or will we live our lives ignoring those around us, numbing ourselves to knowledge, and surrendering to our phones?

Whether you have TikTok or not, that is a question we all need to ask ourselves. As far as how to respond to this ongoing addiction, I would encourage everyone to moderate or limit their usage of the app. I’m not going to tell you to delete it, but do whatever you need to if you feel like it has a strong hold over your life. Trying new hobbies or spending time with your friends and family are great substitutions for how you can spend your time. 

All in all, the last thing you need to remember is that you are special. You have the ability to make a difference in the world and the chance to leave your mark in a positive and impactful way. The question is… What’s stopping you from doing it? 

Surely it’s not an app sitting on your phone, waiting for its “product” to open it.