The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
TikTok might be entering its flop era as users revealed the reasons why they are quitting the ultra-addictive app that witnessed an explosion in popularity over the past few years.
Former TikTok user Keilah Bruce, who found herself constantly neglecting household chores like laundry and dishes, said the app’s eerie algorithm seemed to start ‘reading her mind.’
She stopped using the app last year when content matching her private thoughts began surfacing on her feed, the 27-year-old accountant based in New York shared with the Wall Street Journal.
For Samantha Rodriguez, 29, the habit of bedtime scrolling on TikTok took a toll on her marriage, as her husband repeatedly took her phone out of her hand at night.
Gautam Mengi, a 27-year-old film school student and PR intern, admitted that his procrastination on schoolwork had affected his grades after spending too much time on TikTok.
Keilah Bruce, 27, who found herself constantly neglecting household chores like laundry and dishes, said TikTok’s eerie algorithm seemed to start ‘reading her mind’
For Samantha Rodriguez, 29, the habit of bedtime scrolling on TikTok took a toll on her marriage, as her husband repeatedly took her phone out of her hand at night
TikTok might be entering its flop era as users revealed the reasons why they are quitting the ultra-addictive app that witnessed an explosion in popularity over the past few years
‘It’s one thing to know about you and another to know you,’ Bruce explained the reason why she left the addictive app behind.
She deleted TikTok for a few times but kept redownloading until October 2023, when videos that matched her thoughts began popping up on her phone.
On multiple occasions, she would bring up a funny TikTok video during dinner with friends and spend the next few minutes trying to find it while her friends sat in silence.
Bruce, who always played TikTok’s sounds in the background while doing other work, was struck by silence when she deleted the app.
She began texting and calling her family and friends more frequently, and making plans to go out in spare time, she shared.
‘I’m at a good place now with my friends, my family, my dishes and my laundry. I don’t want to sacrifice those things anymore,’ she said.
Mengi couldn’t stop scrolling through TikTok videos while cooking, watching movies and even taking out the trash.
His roommates ‘felt disrespected’ when he had to watch TikTok on their movie nights, he said.
Gautam Mengi, a 27-year-old film school student, admitted that his procrastination on schoolwork had affected his grades after spending too much time on TikTok
Several factors contribute to this trend, including misinformation, propaganda and concerns about data security affecting the platform
Mengi also procrastinated on his schoolwork, leading to a decline in his grades due to the excessive time he spent on the app.
After acknowledging the impact on his productivity, he deleted TikTok for the fourth time in December 2023. The decision proved successful.
He has been able to carry two trash bags, chop ingredients without being interrupted and watch a film from start to finish without scrolling on his phone.
His GPA saw improvement as well.
Rodriguez, a 29-year-old who works at an estate-planning firm said: ‘I would scroll TikTok while taking my dogs on a walk, and there were times I’d walk into a mailbox or a tree.’
Late-night scrolling had affected her work performance the following day, she remembered.
Moreover, her relationship with her husband became strained as she found it difficult to divert her gaze from the screen while in bed.
‘Cutting the cord was difficult but worth it,’ Rodriguez said. Since she deleted the app in October, she wakes up feeling refreshed every day.
Like Bruce, Mengi, and Rodriguez, many young adults have opted to abandon the app, contributing to the sharp slowdown in user growth on TikTok over the past year.
Analytics firm Data.ai shows the U.S. average monthly users aged between 18 and 24 declined by nearly 9 percent from 2022 to 2023
Lawmakers are advancing a new bill that would force Chinese state-affiliated ByteDance to divest TikTok or else be banned in the U.S.
Analytics firm Data.ai shows the U.S. average monthly users aged between 18 and 24 declined by nearly 9 percent from 2022 to 2023.
Several factors contribute to this trend, including misinformation, propaganda, and concerns about data security affecting the platform.
Lawmakers are advancing a new bill that would force Chinese state-affiliated ByteDance to divest TikTok or else be banned in the U.S.
Meanwhile, some users are simply deleting the app in their quest for more in-person experiences as Elizabeth Tate, 25, said: ‘I realized I have a very finite amount of time on this planet.’
‘There is so much I want to experience and accomplish and do. I was wasting so much time distracting myself,’ she added.
A TikTok spokeswoman said: ‘TikTok offers several tools, from custom screen-time limits to sleep reminders, that are used by millions of people to help them make intentional decisions about how they spend their time.’
