When I think of TikTok, the first thought I have is that it is incredibly unreliable. Of course, there are some truthful videos that do help people or give out good advice, but the majority of the content should not be taken with anything but a grain of salt. Me personally? I would never take what TikTok says to heart.
TikTok has this new phrase of “bed rot” — a phrase describing the phenomenon of laying in bed and doing nothing. I don’t really understand why laying in bed is considered rotting. I guess if you’re doing “nothing,” you are decaying?
Society has this unrealistic belief that if someone does nothing for even a moment, they are “rotting.” Therefore, taking a moment to relax in your home becomes “bed rot.”
However, sometimes you just need a break. Life is hard and shitty and some days are good and some are bad. Sometimes, someone has a long string of bad days and it really affects them. They need time off.
Laying in bed and doing nothing can be good for your mental health. It can bethe break you need to keep going. We should not shame people for this. If that is what you need to keep going and to push through, then there is no “rotting.” It would actually be rotting if you kept going when your mental and physical health is dwindling and yout breaking your body down without taking a break.
I lay in bed all the time. Sometimes I listen to music while staring at a wall. Sometimes, I’m just reading a book. I like laying in bed doing nothing productive. I’m not doing homework or studying or cleaning my dorm or looking at grad schools. I am doing nothing but taking a break and doing what makes me happy for a few hours. There’s nothing wrong with that.
This mentality of being productive 24 hours a day is what will kill us and make us the most unhappy. I believe that as long as you can pay your bills and are healthy physically and mentally, then you can do whatever makes you happy in your personal time (as long as it’s safe and consensual). It doesn’t matter if it’s taking a three hour hike, playing games or just laying in bed. As long as you’re happy and healthy it doesn’t matter what some “picture perfect” person on TikTok thinks.
