Teenagers are addicted to social media. I’ve heard this so many times, yet I never really cared enough to consider the impact… until now.

Studies show that 72% of all Americans have social media apps, yet only 10% of them believe they are not addicted to it. I was unsure whether I was part of that number. However, I did believe that if I were to go without it for a long period of time, it would have no effect on me.

I decided to test that theory. I deleted the only social media apps on my phone for a whole week: Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok.

The first few days hit me hard despite me going into the challenge confidently. When bored, I typically would scroll on TikTok or Instagram; unfortunately, I did not have that availability. The amount of times that I accidentally went to try to open the app that was no longer there was staggering. Several times a day, I would have to stop and think: wait, why am I doing this?

I realized how bored I was when I couldn’t do much on my phone. Instead of taking on the dreaded pastime of reading, I ended up exercising and trying see my friends more.

I was so bored that I never wanted to spend time at my house. I would offer to drive my siblings where they needed to go, and I would run errands for my parents when they needed it. These tasks took hours. But that was the amount of time I would probably be scrolling through social media, accomplishing next to nothing.

I never realized how much time I spent on social media.

I strengthened many relationships with others in my life with the absence of social media.

Instead of “snapping” my friends about something, I would call them. We would talk about whatever was on our minds, and it was refreshing. I never got that experience in using Snapchat. I also got to see my friends more during the week than I have any other week.

While doing this experiment showed me that I was hooked to social media, it also showed me that there are better ways to live my life than behind a screen.

Despite me having a great week, exercising and having better communication and experiences with my family and friends, after the week of giving up social media was over, I re-downloaded the apps, and I’m using social media constantly again.

It turns out that teenagers really are addicted to social media.