Teen Who Wrote the Book on Breaking Social Media Addiction 'Wants to Be an Inspiration' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Discovery Education

Discovery Education

Keegan Lee was in 10th grade when she realized she was addicted to social media, spending about six hours a day checking her phone — even while running. “It was all consuming,” says the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill sophomore. “I was on Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and I couldn’t miss a notification, I had trouble separating myself from my phone.”

She then did the unthinkable: She put down her phone. “I quit for a week and experienced a lot of beautiful things,” says Lee, 19, of Burlington, N.C. and one ofPEOPLE’s Girls Changing the World in 2024. “I developed this higher tolerance for boredom. I could just sit and be still once I resisted the urge to go online.”

Lee turned to the slower-paced world of reading books, handwriting letters and connecting with people in real life, discovering, she says, that “it’s a more long lasting feeling of fulfillment and abundance than what any TikTok video could provide.”

It felt so great that she decided to stay offline for another 60 days, documenting her journey in a diary she shared with an Elon University psychologist,Bilal Ghandour, Ph.D., with whom she co-authored a book about the experience,60 Days of Disconnect: A Personal Perspective of How Social Media Affects Mental Health.

“60 Days of Disconnect,” the book Keegan Lee coauthored with Bilal M. Ghandour.

“Although we can have meaningful relationships online, it is the in-person, physical and tangible interactions with others that bring about the most satisfaction,” says Lee, who still uses social media, but selectively and in moderation.

Keegan Lee (right) with Dr. Bilal Ghandour.William Lee

William Lee

source: people.com