Ding, ding, ding, the bell rings and the student is immediately going to the phone hotel and pulling out his phone. Right away, he is checking his notifications and is going on to instagram. After a brief walk through the halls chatting with his friends, the student sits down at the lunch table and goes on instagram again.
According to a TPH survey, with 152 respondents, 56.6 percent of students believe at least 70 percent or more of their grade is addicted to social media. Dr. Marilu Gorno-Tempini, a professor and neuroscience expert, explained why social media can be so addictive.
“Our brains get addicted because when we do certain things, we get a dopamine rush,” she said. “Over time, we get used to the dopamine rush and become tolerant to its effect. So we chase the original effect, which leads to us doing the thing more often.”
Gorno-Tempini also said that teenagers are particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing, making them more susceptible to the addictive cycle. According to a survey done by TPH, Instagram is the most widely used platform, with 50% of students on it, followed by TikTok at 23 percent and YouTube Shorts at 16.5 percent. The remaining students are split between Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and the lesser-known Red Note. Junior Elspeth Grippando, mostly uses TikTok. Even after the app’s temporary ban, she found herself returning to it without much thought.
“I was mad at first, but then it was back the next day, so it wasn’t a big deal,” Grippando said. “I don’t really think about how much time I spend on it.” She admits that she isn’t very careful about her usage and doesn’t actively try to limit her time on the platform.
Colin Amen, who checks his social media 10 times a day, said that while he enjoys keeping up with sports and school activities, he often feels like he’s wasting time.
“I use it to relax, but sometimes I feel like I could be doing better things with my free time,” Amen said. “I feel like I have to check it every day just to keep up.”
On weekends, Amen spends up to five hours a day on social media, usually while multitasking, but he acknowledges that it has taken away opportunities to use his time more productively. According to survey results, students primarily use social media in the afternoon after school. However, a significant percentage, 21 percent, use it late at night, which according to the Utah Department of Human Health and Services can contribute to sleep deprivation and decreased focus in school.
Miles Lee, On the other hand, is one of the few students at Piedmont who doesn’t have any social media. He feels like he has more free time than his peers.
Consequently, due to his lack of social media presence Lee said that he sometimes struggles to connect with friends over certain things.
“I don’t bond over memes or trends like other people do,” Lee said. “But I also feel like I have more time to do other things that interest me.”
Still, Lee is considering getting Snapchat. Not for scrolling, but for communication.
“The communication aspect appeals to me,” he said. “I just don’t want to get caught up in the endless scrolling.” According to a survey conducted by TPH, 44.7 percent of students spend more than an hour on social media per day, with about 22 percent spending more than 3 hours. For some students, their social media usage can be directly tied to their online presence.
“Having more followers leads me to be on my phone more,” said sophomore Hanley Carling.
“I think I sometimes feel pressure to use it more because I have so many followers.”
According to survey results, 59 percent of students admit that they feel addicted to social media.
Dr. Gorno-Tempini explains that peoples’ approaches to breaking free of addictions is different for each individual.
“Some people slowly stop using it, while others are so deeply affected that they may need to gradually reduce their usage over time to break the habit,” said Dr. Gorno-Tempini. “Young people, particularly teenagers, are more susceptible to addiction due to their developing brains.” With social media’s grip on young users growing stronger, students and experts alike are starting to question how to create healthier digital habits. The challenge students face now is finding ways to regain control over social media use so that they can break the endless cycle of scroll, click, repeat.
