A middle school student in North Carolina has had his mirror privileges revoked for spending too much time filming a TikTok video in the school bathroom.
The Alamance-Burlington School System announced this week that Southern Alamance Middle School has decided to remove bathroom mirrors to reduce distractions.
Some students were caught skipping class and going to the bathroom up to nine times a day.
“Students spent long periods of time going to the bathroom and making TikTok videos,” said school system spokesperson Les Atkins. he told WFMY.
Atkins explained that the mirror featured prominently in videos that middle school students were filming for the app.
Although it is an unusual punishment, it appears that it is already having an effect.
“There are fewer trips to the bathroom, less time spent there, students are held accountable, and when they are held accountable, we see a big difference,” Atkins said.
The district also implemented a digital hall pass system. This allows students to come in and out of class and allows schools to track how much time students spend outside of the classroom.
The “adjustment” is just another step toward the district's new goal of teaching children something called “digital citizenship.”
“We are trying to educate our students. Now everyone has a cell phone. We have to learn how to use them. We have to learn when to put them down. Absolutely,” Atkins said.
The crackdown comes just months after multiple U.S. technology experts warned that Gen Z would become increasingly reliant and dependent on TikTok.
They argued that the mindless scrolling associated with social media apps could develop into an addiction.
Last year, Montana became the first state to ban the app, claiming it was saving its citizens from “Chinese Communist Party surveillance.”
