You can now get paid $1,000 for doing the seemingly impossible—putting down your cell phone and staying away from TikTok for three whole months.
Jewelry company Shane Co. is looking for someone to answer a pressing question: "What could active TikTok users be doing in the hours they spend scrolling?"
The average U.S. adult, according to eMarketer research, spends 40 minutes per day on the popular social media app and Shane Co. wants to know exactly how productive people could be with that time instead. To find out, they're willing to pay a grand to a contest winner in return for monthly updates on the TikTok detox.
Shane Co. expects the winner to write monthly updates on what they've done with their time away from TikTok, including pictures and descriptions of activities.
A spokesperson for Shane Co. told Newsweek that they are hoping to use the results for online content.
"The team at Shane Co. is always working on trending content pieces for their 'Loupe' blog, and the TikTok contest results and input from the lucky winner will be used in future blog content and fuel further research and competitions," they said.
The company is looking for a "highly active TikTok user" who is able to prove exactly how active they are with their average daily screen time on the app.
The winner does not need to upload regularly on the app, or even at all, so whether you are a daily poster or simply watch from the sidelines, it's up for grabs.
"A winner will not be chosen based on their TikTok screen time stats but based on how passionate they are about the app. Entrants' level of enthusiasm for TikTok will be a strong factor of consideration," the company wrote online.
In 2021, TikTok became the world's most downloaded app of the year and boasts over a billion monthly users and for good reason. Anyone who's used the app will tell you, it's hard to get off it. Thinking of just spending a few moments before bed or between work on the app? Think again.
Forbes described the app in 2020 as "digital crack cocaine" and though this might seem far-fetched to some, to others it will be uncomfortably close to the truth.
University of Southern California professor and author Dr. Julie Albright told Forbes that there are actually similarities between apps like TikTok and addictive Las Vegas slot machines—sometimes your next scroll is something you like and sometimes it's not.
"In psychological terms [it's] called random reinforcement," she said. "It means sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. And that's how these platforms are designed … they're exactly like a slot machine. Well, the one thing we know is slot machines are addictive. We know there's a gambling addiction, right? But we don't often talk about how our devices and these platforms and these apps do have these same addictive qualities baked into them."
This, added to TikTok's finely tuned algorithm that makes the "For You Page" so unbelievably perfect "for you," means it can be hard to look away.
To be in with a chance of getting paid to do a three-month TikTok detox, entrants must be over 18 and a US citizen or permanent resident.
Entrants should apply on the Shane Co. page, detailing their average screen time on the app and explaining how they plan to spend their time away from viral videos and lip-syncing dances.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
