Four weeks ago, I held my thumb down on the clock app until it began to shake, then hit the little grey ‘x’ that cropped up over the thumbnail. Ever since, my brain has felt so much more quiet.
I deleted TikTok for many reasons, which you can read a bit more about here, but the main two were:
I was losing precious time mindlessly scrolling.
It was rotting my brain.
I couldn’t spend two minutes sat down without needing to watch a video. My eyes were sore, my brain felt foggy, and I’d have 10 seconds of a song stuck in my head for days.
Limiting screen time wasn’t enough for me, I needed to go cold turkey. And it worked a treat.
I don’t miss TikTok one bit.
At first, the muscle memory was weird. Sitting on the sofa, getting into bed, or stepping foot in the bathroom, I would find myself swiping down on my home screen and searching for TikTok in the recommended apps. But within 24 hours I had stopped doing that.
And I’d forgotten about the app completely.
Unlike Substack, I’d not made any real connections on there. Writing this now, I can think of a handful of accounts I followed on TikTok, but no one that I didn’t already know. On the other hand, I can think of soooo many Substackers I follow who I found through this platform.
I know which site I’d rather spend my time on.
Since deleting TikTok a month ago there has not been one instance where I’ve thought “I wish I was on TikTok right now”, yet before I deleted it I felt like I couldn’t live without it.
I’ve been far less concerned about strangers’ lives, too. Out of sight, out of mind - I’ve got no idea what the trending water bottle of the month is or whether there’s a new beauty product I immediately need, and I like it that way.
It’s not just TikTok
Over the weeks after deleting TikTok, I noticed my Instagram usage creeping up. Was I now mindlessly scrolling on there instead?
I wasn’t going to let that happen and promptly deleted Instagram from my phone, too.
Again, I’ve not missed it at all. Anyone who I need to be in touch with has my phone number. I don’t need to scroll through hundreds of posts and stories to see how they are and what they’re up to.
Finding the quiet
My mind has been particularly noisy lately. Lots of buzzing and thoughts and general chaos. Since deleting TikTok I’ve had more time to focus on the ‘real world’ around me rather than a fictional reality that lives in my phone. It’s meant things have really quietened down in my head, because I’m not taking in an obscene amount of content each day.
I can sit and read a long Substack or a book, rather than scrolling if a video hasn’t caught my eye within the first second. It’s been so refreshing.
Some of my favourite things I’ve done instead of my doomscrolling time…
Read more books and Substacks.
Written more, with fewer distractions.
Slept better.
Done more brain teasing games (and broke a lot of sudoku PBs).
Spent infinitely more time being present.
Looking back, I can see just how unhealthy my relationship with TikTok was. It’s hard to describe, but it feels like a fog has been lifted since removing it from my phone.
Have you ever taken a break from socials, or thought about taking a break? Let me know!