Giana Mejia

My screen time for this specific day, was below the national average of 1 hour; however, this was likely affected by my busy day. Typically I spend about an hour and a half on the app.

According to recent studies, the average user will spend 1 hour on TikTok a day (Exploding Topics). If this statistic is accurate, users will spend at least 30 hours on the app in a single month. A simple 15-second video can spiral into hours and hours of endless scrolling.

I was interested to see how this statistic compared to students at Yorba Linda High School. Thus, I did what any person would do… and conducted an experiment! First, my classmate and I gathered a random sample of data from 30 students in our classes. We asked them to each check their screen time on Sunday, June 25th. Then, we conducted a one-sample t-test for means to gather our data. We compared our p-value of 0.00008 to a significance level of 0.05. Lucas Kame (12) explained, “We have convincing statistical evidence that students at YLHS spend more time on TikTok than the national average of 1 hour.”

Our experiment may have been biased due to the lack of representation of all students at YLHS. We could have included students from all departments at our school: science, math, language arts, history, art, and athletics. However, this data still indicates how popular this social media app has become among people, especially younger students.

Thus, how can we combat this TikTok apocalypse? The easiest way to prevent the doom scroll is to limit screen time on the app. The app itself offers reminders to stop scrolling and take a break, including features to set limits on the app. Some teens have tried to prevent the addiction by deleting the app altogether. 

However, so many other social media platforms have taken their own spin of TikTok: YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat Spotlight. These simple videos have become the latest craze for media content. Phillip Hawkins (12) shared that TikTok has “helped grow so many other social media platforms due to its popularity”.

TikTok isn’t necessarily bad for us, but it has impacted our worlds in so many ways. In our very own region, at Yorba Linda High School, students have spent over 1 hour on average using TikTok. This app has set the foundation for so many new creative ideas, regarding advertisements, entertainment, and a source of income for people. Our world is continuing to change by technology each day, and TikTok is the prime example.