Say Goodbye to Social Media: 3 Local Teens Accept NBC 7's Challenge to Log Off

How much time do you spend on social media? Does it consume several hours of your day? Have you considered deleting your accounts?

One local sophomore, Riley Cox, deactivated her accounts a few months ago and encouraged others to give it a shot. So NBC 7 challenged three other high school students to follow suit.

On Monday, Carlsbad High School students Tosh Carr (9^th grade), Jasmina Pesakovic (11^th grade), and Jj Measer (12^th grade) deleted social media apps off their phones.

They've committed to staying off their social media accounts for a week to see what they learn from the experience and their parents and peers are in on the experiment, too, to keep the students accountable.

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They'll document their journeys via video and NBC 7 will share their experiences.

The group of students said they use TikTok and Instagram most frequently, but also turn to Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, YouTube, and other various platforms.

"It’s just like so normal to be on it all the time," Pesakovic said. "Like, the second I get any kind of free time, I’m on it."

Carr agreed. “I wake up to my phone and I fall asleep to my phone."

Measer and Pesakovic said they accepted the challenge to change habits.

“I can’t just be on my phone for an hour at a time,” Measer said.

“I feel like even when I try to do other things, it still manages to, like, weasel its way into my routine. So, hopefully, we can fix that this week,” Pesakovic said.

The students said they’ve tried to cut back on social media but haven’t been able to cut the cord for more than a few days. And, the constant scrolling can take a toll on their mental health.

"I never feel good after I get off of my phone," Measer said. "After being on my phone for an hour or two, it’s like, where did the day go? What happened?"

Carr shared a similar experience.

“At the end of the two hours that your spending staring down with your neck facing down, and your eyes being strained, you feel kind of like, ‘Okay, what’s next? What did I just do?'"

A study from the American Psychological Association released in 2019 showed a link between negative psychological effects among young adults coinciding with the time that social media burst onto the scene. No link was found in older adults.

During the students’ interview with NBC 7, they pulled out their phones and deleted each social media platform from their phones.

“Feels great,” said Measer, as he deleted his first social media app.

“There goes Twitter,” said Pesakovic.

“My phones glitching up. I think it’s upset that I’m deleting so much,” joked Carr.

The students will check-in with NBC 7 via video each day. We'll bring you updates on their journey on NBC 7 and NBC7.com.