By Lauren Ring, Staff Writer
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the average time that college students spend on screens is 6 hours and 53 minutes a day.
Whether one uses Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), Snapchat or other socials such as Lemon8, BeReal or Lapse, everyone has been exposed to the idea or the usage of social media at some point in their lives.
Hannah Soto, a sophomore at TMU, said, “I have Instagram and Pinterest. I got Instagram to be able to keep up with friends, though I didn’t have it for the longest time. I also use it to find artists for inspiration. Pinterest is where I get a lot of my artsy and creative inspiration.”
She admits that she, as well as 36% of college students across the country (according to a 2023 Pew Research Study), struggles with her screen time.
“To be honest, it’s turned into unhealthy escapism. I’ve always been on the internet a lot for writing and artsy purposes, but especially since downloading Instagram, I find myself consuming a lot of media,” Soto said.
Soto explained that doom-scrolling has prohibited her from growing in her art, which was her original intent in downloading the apps.
“I don’t even like social media that much… it’s not a priority. But it’s become a default when I’m bored since it’s just something to look at,” Soto said
Marcus McCormic, a senior at TMU, mentioned his decision to delete Instagram and TikTok at the beginning of April, after he realized how unhealthy Instagram and TikTok were to his life.
“Personally, I decided I was going to get rid of it. I’ve found my days are a lot brighter since. One of the things [social media] does is it paralyzes you where you are,” McCormic said.
McCormic explains that social media can leave you avoiding real interaction with others and instead, doom-scrolling to get away from reality.
“I realized how many times I was reaching for my phone when I was sitting down to do nothing,” McCormic said. “I realized I was being drawn to these apps, and it was getting in the way of schoolwork and growing. So, getting rid of it has been a huge blessing, and I’ve also seen an uptick in my desire to do other things.”
Yet, a rare few on campus have stepped away from social media for years.
Louis Merred, a sophomore at TMU and the resident assistant (RA) of the Hudson Taylor canyon home, said, “The only social media I have is Snapchat and I only use it to keep in touch with old friends… it’s better than texting because I actually get to see them.
“Even before I was saved, I never wanted social media because I like interacting with people in person. I don’t want to assume or jump to conclusions about ‘who someone is’ based on the pictures or small videos they may post [on social media]. That, and I feel like people are more ‘fake’ than ‘genuine’ [when they are] behind a camera,” Merred said.
Many students feel that they are enslaved to the addiction of “doom-scrolling” or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). For Merred, he only snaps his friends from home about once or twice a day. Other than that, he is never on it.
“I would honestly say just delete it,” Merred said. “If you are struggling with it and can’t seem to break your habit, just put it away entirely. I hardly ever use my phone in general and although that has some downsides, like being hard to contact at certain times, I’ve found that the less I’m on my phone, the more I’m engaged with the world around me and better experiences I have.”
Whether spending 15 minutes a day checking on your friends or seven hours a day trying to escape from reality on a screen, one must evaluate his own heart and put off anything that draws him away from the Lord.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” 1 Corinthians 10:31.
The TMU Mane 