A new trend has been occurring for teens, but not one that you would expect. Teens are buying older phones that only allow texting and ditching their smartphones. Are teens finally becoming more aware of how social media is negatively affecting their lives? Eloise Hampton, a TikToker that has 151k followers, has recently made a video on why she decided to ditch her smartphone for her senior year of high school.
“I had the realization of how out of touch I was because of social media and how out of touch everyone is and how the whole social media is like a money grab. I want to enjoy senior year and be present so that I can really savor it,” she said.
Eloise says that with the $30 phone she purchased from Walmart, she will be able to text and take pictures, which she states is all she needs.
Some other benefits of becoming a Luddite, or a person that is opposed to new technologies or ways of working, is that you will get better sleep, have more free time, be more aware and productive, and have less distractions. Not only that, but you will also relieve the mental burden, which is very important with the rising numbers of mentally ill and exhausted teens. Joyoti Patel, a medical director, constantly advocates against social media and how much it affects the human brain.
“For a better mental health, just turning off the unwanted notifications, getting rid of the social apps that you don’t really need to have will help you in different ways,” she said.
Studies show that teenage users that spend an abundant amount of their time on social media have a higher rate of reported depression compared to those who spent minimal time.
Abhijit Naskar, an author that is also known as the “gospel of technology”, feels strongly about how much technology affects its users.
“It is okay to own a technology, what is not okay is to be owned by technology,” Naskar says.
He urges parents to beware of their child’s screen time because he believes that it’s a matter of life and death.
If you are wondering what you can do with all the extra time you will have, some productive activities include, reading a book, riding a bike, hanging out with friends and family, baking, painting, yoga, meditation, and much more. Instead of scrolling aimlessly through TikTok, teens may be able to get their homework done sooner and more efficiently.