The majority of Morton East students spend over an hour on TikTok.
Tiktok is the most time-consuming social media network in 2023. In a recent survey of 100 Morton East students, 27 mentioned they spend more than one hour a day on TikTok, 40 students reported spending 1 to 2 hours each day, and 33 students admitted to spending 3 or more hours on Tiktok.
Out of those 100 students, 53 stated that TikTok doesn’t affect their ability to complete homework or disturb their sleep, while 47 said TikTok does interfere with their work and sleep.
TikTok has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. Originally created as a platform for creating and sharing short, clipped videos, it became addictive due to its endless scrolling feature. This can become a distraction and disrupt daily routines and responsibilities, including work, school, and household tasks. Some individuals tend to overshare their personal lives, which can lead to criticism and increased scrutiny.
“I would say that since the school year has started, I find myself on TikTok WAY less. During the summer, I spent a lot of time on it. Now that I’m back to work, I would say it is definitely an hour or less per day. The weekends may be more though,” said staff member Mrs. Del Monaco.
However, some teachers don’t have as much will-power.
“Many times I find myself scrolling on TikTok before bed. I’ve realized that after 3 hours, I’m still awake,” said teacher Chef Yve.
And, other teachers actually get their teaching ideas and plans while scrolling TikTok.
“Tiktok does not distract me from my teaching work. I find a lot of activities and ideas on TikTok that I incorporate into my work, but it has never become a distraction. I do not open TikTok during the school day,” said Spanish teacher Ms. Esmeralda Ortiz.
However, other teachers get more distracted on TikTok easily,
“TikTok does sometimes keep me from sleeping, only because I find myself losing track of time. I use it to destress, but sometimes I lose track of time,” said teacher Ms. Sandoval.
And, other teachers simply don’t like using Tiktok.
“I do not have TikTok because I choose to spend my time on activities I enjoy that make me feel productive, like spending time with my family and being outdoors,” said Mr. Romero.”
Christian Miranda • Oct 25, 2023 at 1:51 pm
Frankfother. I disagree with the opinion that TikTok is not a distraction because many people spend most of their time scrolling through TikTok for multiple hours a day. I have seen most of the outer family spend most of their time scrolling through TikTok daily and it’s often distracting. They could be doing helpful things to help around the house but instead spend any free time they have being on TikTok. This isn’t just an issue with TikTok, instead it’s an issue with social media in general.
Angelica Tovar • Oct 25, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Fankforther- i agree that most Morton students do spend alot of time on TikTok because it can distract students during school “This makes it even more tempting for them to stay on TikTok during schoolwork and in lessons and convince themselves that they can pay attention to both. However, research has now proven time and time again that multi-tasking is a myth that simply leads to students being distracted and learning at a much slower pace, ultimately reducing their progress”
J • Oct 25, 2023 at 1:49 pm
Frankfother. I agree that a lot of Morton East are on Tiktok for hours because I be seeing others using it. I think that a lot of people be using TikTok or social media to distract themselves for how there feeling or they just use it for entertainment for when they have nothing to do.
Andrew Arteaga • Oct 25, 2023 at 1:47 pm
Frankfother- I feel like most morton students do use tiktok and i feel like it does affect students, Out of those 100 students, 53 stated that TikTok doesn’t affect their ability to complete homework or disturb their sleep, while 47 said TikTok does interfere with their work and sleep.
Rubi • Oct 25, 2023 at 12:54 pm
frankfother i think morton east students do use tiktok specially while being in class and outside of school. I personally do find myself get distracted a lot while i do my homework or whenever im bored. i try to avoid watching tiktok during school hours due to this reason and also by avoiding getting distracted from paying attention while the teacher is talking.
Rubi • Oct 25, 2023 at 12:53 pm
frankfother i think morton east students do use tiktok specially while being in class and outside of school. I personally do find myself get distracted a lot while i do my homework or whenever im bored. i try to avoid watching tiktok during school hours due to this reason and also by avoiding getting distracted from paying attention while the teacher is talking.
Marvin Leyva • Oct 25, 2023 at 10:24 am
O’Malley- I feel like most Morton students do spend quite a lot of time on Tik Tok as a user of the app myself, It is very entertaining and it does give a nice break from the work you might have from teachers and other things but it could also be a distraction if you use it too much.
Jackeline Rivera Sedano • Oct 25, 2023 at 9:34 am
O’Malley I think Tiktok can and cant be a distraction depending on each person. For me it is distracting I can’t watch Tiktok and due school work at the same time, but I also know people who know how to multitask. It also does affecting my sleeping hours I don’t even notice but time be going fast and when I least know it’s already 1AM.