From Newsgroup: alt.politics.media
For the first time in years, Amy feels free.
One month since Australia's teen social media ban kicked in, she says
she is "disconnected from my phone" and her daily routine has changed.
The 14-year-old first felt the pangs of online addiction in the days
after the ban started.
"I knew that I was still unable to access Snapchat - however, from
instinct, I still reached to open the app in the morning," she wrote on
day two of the ban in a diary she kept for the first week afterwards.
By day four of the ban rCo when ten platforms including Facebook,
Instagram and TikTok went dark for thousands of Australian children aged
16 and under rCo she had started to question the magnetic pull of
Snapchat.
"While it's sad that I can't snap my friends, I can still text them on
other platforms and I honestly feel kind of free knowing that I don't
have to worry about doing my streaks anymore," Amy wrote.
Streaks - a Snapchat feature considered by some as highly addictive rCo
require two people to send a "snap" rCo a photo or video rCo to each other every day in order to maintain their "streak" which can last for days,
months, even years.
By day six, the allure of Snapchat - which she first downloaded when she
was 12 and checked several times a day - was fading fast for Amy.
"I often used to call my friends on Snapchat after school, but because I
am no longer able to, I went for a run," she wrote.
Fast forward a month, and her habits are markedly different.
"Previously, it was part of my routine to open Snapchat," the Sydney
teen tells the BBC.
"Opening Snapchat would often lead to Instagram and then TikTok, which sometimes resulted in me losing track of time after being swept up by
the algorithm ... I now reach for my phone less and mainly use it when I genuinely need to do something."
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mpmgn3jv2o
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