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The rise of social media use for teens and tweens, particularly TikTok, has been a cause for debate for years. TikTok has reportedly become such a problem with kids now that one school in North Carolina has taken extreme steps to combat social media use by removing all of its bathroom mirrors.
According to ABC 11, Southern Alamance Middle School has removed the mirrors from its bathrooms in an effort to stop students from spending too much time taking videos to share online. Staff members reportedly argued that students were spending too much time in the bathroom filming videos and social media content, with some students even going to the bathroom 7 to 8 times a day, per Dexerto.
"Students were going to the bathroom for long periods of time and making TikTok videos," Les Atkins, Alamance-Burlington School System public relations officer, told WFMY.
Since removing the mirrors and implementing a digital hall pass system that lets students check in and out of class, documenting how much time they spend outside of the classroom, the extra-long bathroom visits seem to be a thing of the past.
"Not as many visits tot he bathroom, not staying as long and students are held accountable and then when there's accountability you see a great difference," said Atkins. He added, "We're trying to educate students: we all have cell phones now. We have to learn to use them. We have to learn when to put them down."
In a letter to parents, school officials said they "strive to limit distractions so students can focus on learning," adding, "Though this is an adjustment, we believe these changes will foster a better learning environment by minimizing disruptions."