Everyone is on their phones. But is it really phone addiction we’re experiencing?

Ananya Jain never planned on becoming addicted to TikTok.

Jain, who is 24 years old, downloaded the app right during the peak of Covid. She had heard about TikTok’s data privacy issues, so she promised herself that she wouldn’t post or comment on anything – just watch a few videos and call it a day. That lasted less than a month.

“It just pulled me in because I was so lonely,” Jain said. “I was looking for friends.”