Masuk Free Press

Gen Z is known as the age of the screenagers. With new trends, scandals and updates seeming to drop every minute of the day, it is easy to get lost in the world of social media. Everyday you can observe teens with their noses buried in their phones, mindlessly scrolling the internet. If they are not on their phone, look around; there is no doubt that their phone is within arms reach, waiting for that captivating notification to pop up. 

With the latest news of the TikTok ban sending shock waves into the younger generation of America, a new perspective has opened up on how social media impacts high school students. 

For years there has been an ongoing debate on how to make social media a safer place for consumers. But never a thought about ultimately banning or restricting it in full. 

“It is going to be a big shock for our generation if TikTok gets banned,” said junior Niti Shah. “But I think it could be one of those things that you don’t realize how bad it is until it’s gone.”

When Tiktok was released in 2016, it was revolutionary in the sense that it introduced the idea of short, quick videos. As its popularity grew, other platforms followed suit, releasing their style of short videos; Instagram and Facebook came out with Reels, and Youtube with Shorts.

“The new idea of shorter videos like TikTok and Youtube Shorts keeps you trapped scrolling on your phone for hours on end,” said junior Kaela Christiano. 

As the popularity of short form videos grew, the attention span of teens declined. Many high school students neglect their school work and other responsibilities to mindlessly scroll. 

“It has come to a point where I scroll mindlessly on it and won’t even think about how many hours I’m spending on TikTok or Instagram,” said junior Kayla Roy. “That’s what is really tough about it. I waste so much time on my phone, I don’t get my work done and I procrastinate.”

Although it seems like everyone is on social media nowadays, there is still a minority of teens who have opted out of participating in it.

“I have been off social media since freshman year. I found it a huge distraction, especially when it came to completing schoolwork,” said Christiano. “Ever since then I haven’t used social media, and I find it has helped me a lot.”

While only few have willingly stepped away from social media, the vast majority of high school students refuse to take accountability and acknowledge how social media has negatively impacted their lives. Social media can have its positives, but it is disappointing how much it has consumed our lives, to the point where a TikTok ban may be the only way to free our generation of the chokehold social media has us in. 

But, the chances of this happening are very low; There is way to get rid of social media in totality. It has become a part of our everyday lives.

“It is really up to us to set restrictions for ourselves,” said Shah. “But for most of us, it will be a long journey.”

Small changes, however, can happen, and even little restrictions can greatly benefit consumers. For example, the idea of taking away like counts on platforms like Instagram.

Social media has set up a hierarchy especially in younger people. The more likes you get, the more popular, or better, you must be. This leads people down the rabbit hole of comparing themselves to other peoples’ online presences. This toxic cycle is detrimental to the mental health of thousands of teenagers, breaking down self confidence and esteem. It also sends the message that you must be a certain way to receive more likes, thus achieving this high status

“A lot of people our age care a lot about like counts,” said Roy. “Especially females. We compare ourselves a lot to people on social media, and it is sad but it can really break a person down.”

By removing the like counts, it also removes the stigma that in order to be great, you must have a high like count. It can also put the real meaning of social media back into place: to have fun communicating with your friends. 

Changes or bans to social media are necessary to save the mental health and work ethic of young teens. These platforms are a tricky place to navigate, but hopefully the future looks up for the younger generation, as others begin to realize the negative impact it has on the generation of screenagers.