Though social media can do great things, we must keep in mind that, if not used carefully, it can be detrimental to our mental health. According to the Mayo Clinic, teens can form a healthy attachment to social media that helps them connect with people who have similar interests, fosters community, or helps them learn how to cope with challenging situations. The problem arises when an unhealthy attachment is formed, leading to distractions in school, the perpetuation of biased or extremist information, exposure to predators and cyberbullying, and disruptions in sleep.

There are many ways an unhealthy attachment is formed, including the amount of time spent on social media, the type of content consumed or created, psychological elements such as maturity level, and personal circumstances like economic, social, and cultural factors. The most obvious solution would be to cut back on screen time and teach media literacy—not only to kids but to parents as well.

According to the American Psychological Association, teens spend an average of 4.8 hours on social media, with 37% of them reporting that they spend five or more hours. We can all agree that this is a lot of time wasted scrolling, and the numbers show that, too. Forty-one percent of teens who spend the most time on social media report poor or very poor mental health. Sixty percent of teens who report low parental monitoring and weak parental relationships also report poor or very poor mental health.

Though the solution to this problem is clear, follow-through is something that needs to be worked on. The issue is that these apps are highly addictive, with TikTok arguably being the most addictive due to its short-form videos, which cause a dopamine rush, and its never-ending For You page that makes the scroll hard to stop.

I know firsthand that it’s hard to stop. I was one of those people who deleted TikTok right after the ban, and when it came back, but wasn’t yet in the app stores, I was kicking myself for it. After a while, however, I noticed that without it, I was more productive and focused on the world around me instead of the phone in my hand. Even after that realization, the second it returned to the app stores, I downloaded TikTok again, and here I am, wasting hours of my life on an app that only wants to sell me things and rot my brain.