Assignment 3: Time Diary

Over the last couple of days, I have tracked my usage of the app TikTok. I use this app solely on my phone as the website is not very user-friendly. While tablets and iPads do work, I prefer my iPhone as it is the most convenient to swipe upward to get a new video. All activity occurred after 6 pm with a peak of activity around 10 pm. This is likely due to my scrolling through the app before falling asleep. This also causes a delay in when I sleep.

There appeared to be no change in activity when varying the day of the week and day type (weekend versus work day). I believe this to be because I do university online and am currently unemployed, thus not having a rigid structure for my schedule. As mentioned previously, I most often spend my time on this app in bed before sleeping. However, there were some times I spent on it when waiting for dinner. With TikTok, my interaction behavior is different as my likes are saved.

Thus, I like things only when I want to refer back to them later. I also only comment when there is a need for clarification or I want more information. For example, I asked why sunscreen should be applied before makeup and received a reply explaining. In contrast, when I use other social media platforms I just like whatever I favor. When using this app, I send videos to my best friend using the in-app messaging function.

I have attached a picture that further explains my time spent each day on TikTok, my total time on my phone, and the percentage of how much TikTok was making up my screen time. It is important to note that my day with the highest screen time, Tuesday, also had the highest percentage of TikTok time over total screen time. This helped me draw the conclusion that I often add a lot to my screen time when using TikTok as I will be on the app itself or feel that I should use my phone more for other entertainment. Oftentimes, I circled between Youtube, Tiktok, and Instagram. When I was tired of one social media platform, I switched to the other. This created a feedback loop where my screen time increased.

I think it was very valuable for me to keep track of this as I never realized how much time I have spent on TikTok and on my phone in general. In the future, I will be more conscious of the social media feedback loop to avoid being trapped and spending more time on my phone than necessary.