Listening to Yvonne talk about the damages of social media usage really hit something in me. We all know it's not good for us but in the moment it just seems so harmless. Hearing someone my age go through so much because of it made me realise I had to stop before it causes more damage and get my life in my hands. Each part of her speech resonated with me extremely deeply since she kept mentioning examples I related to or that called me out. I truly believe every teen should watch her talk at least once.
Johanna Siegler, 15, Kaiserin Friedrich Gymnasium
Why Just Scroll When You Could Truly Live?
Our Story
Why I Started Scrollives
My name is Yvonne He and as a teenager, I was addicted to social media myself. My daily screen time exceeded 9 hours and I didn't realise how bad this was. I told myself I was just lazy and could quit whenever I wanted. I was wrong on both counts.
Slowly, without noticing, my life began to fall apart. I withdrew from my friends, slipped into heavy depression, and found my memory and ability to think heavily deteriorating — my brain so overloaded with a constant flood of TikTok content that it stopped forming new memories properly. Eventually, this led to me failing school and I was forced to drop out.
At that point, I still didn't realise what had caused my downfall. That only changed when I completely stepped away from social media and managed to acknowledge what it had done to me. What still terrifies me? The fact that I never noticed it happening in the moment.
Since reclaiming my time, I've rebuilt my life better than ever before. I managed to rediscover focus, joy, and the things I actually care about. I started Scrollives because I don't want anyone else to hit rock bottom before they realise what's quietly taking everything from them.
- We believe attention is the most valuable thing a young person has — and it's being harvested.
- We speak youth to youth, because trust and relatability can't be faked. Teens don't need another adult warning them — they need a peer who's lived it looking them in the eye.
- We believe every young person already has everything they need to be extraordinary.
- We help victims individually and believe help should be accessible and free.