WHY DELETING TIKTOK WAS THE BEST DECISION FOR ME & THE PLANET
I deleted TikTok over a year ago now… and I’m so happy I did!!
I’ve not had TikTok for over a year now (well… I did re-download it a few months back to look up cute restaurants to visit in London. But I pinkie -promise that after a quick search, I deleted it) and I SWEAR it has made shopping sustainably so much easier.
I know what you’re thinking “but Daisy you referenced TikTok in your last article”. Look I don’t live under a rock (although I do pretty much live the lifestyle of a grandma at 22 years old), I still know what is happening over in the world of TikTok. Plus, I have my sources and by sources, I mean I sometimes watch over my little sister’s shoulder as she scrolls through her for you page.
So anyway, it’s January 1st, 2023, and I’m still slightly hungover from the night before, but that’s not why my head is pounding. It’s pounding because I have what feels like thousands of university essays to start (okay, okay I can’t blame it all on the essays, some of my headache, might have been the result of one too many double vodka cokes) and so, I thought to myself how can I be more productive? How can I increase my attention span so I can get these assignments over and done with quicker? How do I stop treating myself to a break every time I successfully write a sentence or two?
Well after inspecting my weekly screen time report it was clear I NEEDED to delete TikTok. I mean seriously my TikTok screen time was so high, that it outright gave my boyfriend the ick:
“Honestly Daisy it is making me look at you in a whole different way. What are you spending 6 hours a day on TikTok doing?”
So, I did it! I went cold turkey, as they say, deleting the app there and then. I mean I kept my account and all, but the app was gone, out of reach, hidden somewhere amongst the thousands of other apps on the app store.
The first few days were weird. I would constantly pick up my phone, only to put it down 10 seconds later, after I realised, I had no reason to be going on it now. Not that watching TikTok’s was much of a reason to begin with.
However, once I got past the awkwardness that was those first few days, I found myself being more productive than ever before. This isn’t to say I became one of those people who could complete an essay in a night (am I the only one who is still suspicious of anyone who said they wrote their essays the night before they were due? Maybe I’m just jealous they're not as anxious as myself, but I don’t see how it’s possible), I mean it didn’t stop me being the biggest overthinker ever. I would still re-write each sentence 10x over, but it did feel amazing to finally be able to give my undivided attention to my work.
I had only planned to delete the app for a month or so, BUT I soon replaced my TikTok addiction with an addiction for not having TikTok. I loved the way it felt to be able to concentrate on something for longer than 30 seconds, so much so, that now a year and a half on I still don’t have TikTok (don’t get me wrong, from time to time I do miss the feeling of laying in bed and scrolling mindlessly).
Alongside increasing my productivity, something else unexpected started to happen. With each day that has passed, without TikTok's presence on my phone, I’ve found it easier and easier to make more sustainable decisions.
Deprived of an endless stream of shopping hauls, my urge to shop has lessened dramatically. Furthermore, in my absence from the crazy world of TikTok, I’ve found myself experimenting more with the wardrobe I already have. I’ve felt less compelled to shop the latest trends because quite simply I don’t know what they are. I’ve found this being out of the loop… refreshing. It feels as though I can now confidentially say that I am wearing what I am wearing because I like it and not because someone online deemed it fashionable. I am by no means suggesting that I am immune to the allure of trends, but I feel that I better able to decipher if I actually like them or not.
None of this is to say, that I think TikTok, or its creators, are to blame for our horrendous shopping habits. At the end of the day, we can only blame ourselves, the app doesn’t make the purchases, we do!
P.S. please take everything i’ve said about having the strength to delete TikTok, with a pinch of salt. I will probably go scroll through YouTube Shorts right after I’ve finished publishing this.
