Heavy eyes, foggy mind. Josiah Monroe, a C+ average senior at West Ottawa High School, comes to school unprepared for his geometry test and English assignment due today—all his intended studying sacrificed for mindless scrolling.
Dragging himself out of bed on Monday morning, Monroe regretted the hours he spent scrolling through TikTok the previous night, wishing he had just put down his phone and gotten some sleep. “Lesson learned: sometimes the scroll isn’t worth it,” Monroe said. But alas, he fell victim to the addictive videos on TikTok.
He’s not alone, many West Ottawa students share his struggle. That’s why the recent ban on TikTok might do some good for them. “I think the TikTok ban is good for students because it takes away the constant access to depressing topics and beauty standards that induce insecurity. It will provide students with more time to do other things instead of scrolling,” Soph. Bella Bouwens said.
In March of 2024, The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok for good. For the past eight years that TikTok has been active the U.S. government was skeptical of the app because it’s Chinese-owned. The government made claims that American citizens were being spied on by the communist Chinese. Although, this isn’t the problem that students face with the app.
When TikTok is out of the picture, students will have to find better ways to spend their time. The ban is a wake-up call for students to put down their phones and focus on what is important: family, school work, and mental health.
TikTok can be addicting, and its presence is a distraction that students don’t need. In an informal survey of 47 West Ottawa students, it was found that, on average, they spend about four hours every day on TikTok, yes, that’s right: four hours. That four hours amounts to 240 minutes that could have been used more productively. Instead of scrolling through social media, they could be doing activities like taking a bike ride, completing homework, tidying up their room, or walking the dog. Time is precious, and spending it wisely is important. Students aren’t going to reflect on their lives in 30 years and wish they’d spent more time on TikTok.
When TikTok is officially banned, another app will easily fill its shoes. The TikTok “ban wouldn’t really do much, I mean yes, it gets rid of the fact that people can watch videos, but then again people can always just start watching Instagram reels, so there’s not much to it,” Frosh. Hailey Wilson said.
Another app could take TikTok’s place for students, but students can use the TikTok ban as a catalyst for change and help students break free from the grip of social media. Because in the end, what truly matters is how they spend their moments offline—connecting, creating, and living fully.
In a world where students’ attention is constantly pulled in a thousand different directions, reclaiming control over time is an act of rebellion. It’s a declaration that moments are precious and should be spent intentionally, not squandered on mindless distraction.
So, as West Ottawa High School braces for a TikTok-less future, it’s a chance for students to rediscover the joy of living in the moment. A chance to make genuine connections and a chance to create personal growth. And perhaps, in doing so, they’ll find that the real world offers far more than any viral video ever could.
