Young Reporter, Scarlett Tynan-Morris, Comberton Village College

Teens in the UK spend an average of eight hours and 39 minutes on their phones every day which is roughly 130 days a year spent texting, scrolling, posting, clicking and typing.

On Saturday 20 April, I didn't use any form of social media, to see if it really does change your daily habits, mood and ability to get anything else done Spoiler alert - it does.

I woke up at 9am and started my day, fighting the urge to mindlessly scroll and waste time. Throughout the day I got a lot more done than I ever would have with my phone in hand - homework that wasn’t due for another week, I tidied my room, read a lot of the book I'm reading and spent more time with my family. I had no homework or revision left to do after the day was over.

Now we know no social media has a positive effect on productivity, the next question is, did it improve my mood? I spent a lot more time with family, and outside, both of which majorly improved how I felt as they were positive experiences, and I got way more out of it than just being inside on my phone. So yes, being off social media skyrocketed my mood- but it wasn’t easy.

As someone who is on their phone a lot, I struggled throughout the day to stay off social media, mainly TikTok. So I’ve decided to limit social media in my day-to-day life rather than cut it out completely, and if you’d like to do so too here are some tips on how to reduce your time wasted on social media:

1.     Screen time. On your phone there is a setting that can send you reminders of when to get off social media.

2.     Focus apps. Apps like Flora help you stay off your phone, which keeps you focused on the task and more productive on the whole.

3.     Plan your day. Fill the day with tasks/ activities that get you off your phone! This could be setting aside an hour for reading, spending time with a loved one or studying.

I’d recommend doing a social media cleanse to anyone struggling to get things done/ just need a break from doom scrolling!