This week, I took my distraction detox to the next level by going five days without TikTok. This app is my downfall, and I find myself gravitating to it far too often. I listen to and watch them when I’m working, cooking, and laying in bed. I always have an anxious burn in my chest when I’m doing it, but it’s so hard to get myself to stop. “Just one more,” I tell myself, like the addict I am. 

In addition to removing it from my home screen, I tracked my usage and behavior toward my phone this week. Because I have an iPhone, I tracked my usage with the screen time function. This will tell me what apps I use each day and for how long, as well as how many times I pick up my phone and what app I open first each time. I plan to keep the TikTok app off my home screen after the detox so I have to type it into the search bar to gain access. Hopefully, this will add another layer of thought instead of clicking into it mindlessly.

For when I was tempted to open the app, I had a few alternatives in mind that were more productive. If I found myself thinking about TikTok when I was home, I would find my cat and spend some time with her. I usually play with her for 30 minutes to an hour every day, but longer couldn’t hurt. It makes me happy to see her play and keeps me entertained while giving her exercise (which she needs because she’s a chonkster). If I thought about TikTok at work, I shifted my attention to opening my text messages and replying to any I hadn’t yet. I have a bad habit of checking texts and not answering, so I wanted to redirect my habit to something a bit more productive. To remind me why this detox is important, I would return to this article; it lists several reasons why being away from social media is helpful for the mind, body, and spirit.

I also created a note in my phone to act as a digital journal of my thoughts as I went through the five days. I added to it each time I thought about TikTok and what I did instead. I’m proud of myself for not opening the app at all this past week, but I noticed some of my normal behavior redirected to Instagram and YouTube. Although I spent less time on Instagram and YouTube compared to my normal TikTok time, I still had bouts of doom scrolling. I was most susceptible on Tuesday and Thursday, and here’s why: I have about an hour between class Zoom meetings on Tuesday evenings, and on Thursdays I do… homework. I’m nothing if not a procrastinator, so this wasn’t surprising. In the future, though, I’ll know these are my weak moments and prepare myself with something more productive to procrastinate with, such as crocheting or watching a documentary. 

Despite a few doom scrolls, I feel that I was more productive this week because some of my screen time was used to investigate questions I thought of or looking further into what was brought up in conversations, such as my best friend looking to adopt a kitten; you don’t have to pull my leg to look at cute kitties. Because I wasn’t being sucked in as deeply by Instagram and YouTube (for the most part), I was able to be more present with cooking and getting ready for bed, which was refreshing. 

To create a visual of my usage data, I gained insight on the process from the Dear Data project and Nicholas Feltron’s work. The Dear Data project involved two designers, Giorgia and Stefanie, who sent postcards visualizing a certain behavior to each other every week for a year. Seeing how their visualizations of the same topic were different from each other was neat to see. Feltron focuses on graphic design and creates annual reports to reflect his lifestyle. Some of his categories include traveling, sleeping, and time at his studio. These two initiatives were inspiring and led me to create the image below. I wanted to play with simple shapes, color, and proportions to convey my usage.

This exercise had its difficulties, like remembering to record each time I thought about TikTok, but seeing this week’s behavior laid out visually helps me understand how I’m spending my time and what I can work on to continue improving my screen time. As I write this two days post detox, I still haven’t opened TikTok.

To see a detailed account of my usage, click here.