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A teen in Minnesota is $1,800 richer after going six years without social media—right up until his 18th birthday.
At the age of 12, Sivert Klefsaas vowed to spend the next six years of his life social media-free, in a challenge his mom dubbed "18 for 18." If Sivert completed it, he'd earn $1,800.
This past weekend, Klefsaas did exactly that, as reported by Minneapolis TV station Kare 11. "Being 12, I didn't really have that great of a concept of money yet. So, I was like oh sick, yeah, absolutely," he told the outlet, recalling how he enthusiastically took up the challenge.
"He did really dig in. He was like 'I'm not breaking this.' I'm proud of him, because there were a few times where it was harder," mom Lorna Klefsaas added. "I knew for sure he was going to make it."
For the past six years, Sivert Klefsaas has been social-media-free, unlike most kids his age. Surveys show that around 90 percent of teens aged 13-17 in the U.S. have social media, with 75 percent having at least one active profile.
According to Kare 11, it was Sivert Klefsaas' older sister's struggle with social media obsession that sparked mom Lorna Klefsaas' to go ahead with the idea. "She got so obsessed with keeping up her Snapchat streaks that really it was affecting her mood, it was affecting her friendships," she said.
It's reported that 57 percent of all teens agree that using social media often distracts them when they should be doing homework and 42 percent of teens agree that it has taken time away that they should have spent with friends in person. The impact of social media is debatable however, with a majority of teens believing it has a positive impact on various parts of their lives.
According to Pew Research Center, 81 percent of teens say social media makes them feel more connected to what's happening in their friends' lives and seven in ten say it makes them feel more in touch with their friends' feelings and that they have a place to show their creative side.
Sivert Klefsaas admitted that although he would do it again, it was tough being out of the loop with trends and viral happenings, but added that his friends managed to fill him in in person.
"You just hear about all the stuff that goes on and just with my friends and with school, and like, 'oh somebody said this about you' and 'oh somebody did that.' And I was really spared from all that," he reasoned to Kare 11.
Once he made it to the milestone though, Sivert Klefsaas was straight to Instagram, where he says he now feels like an older person attempting to work it all out.
"It's hilarious. I feel like I'm like 80. I can't seem to figure out social media. It's pretty embarrassing. I'll be with my friends, and they are like, 'What are you doing?'" he said.
"On the whole, I would say totally worth it. I mean, I would do it again."
According to his mother, since posting the results of their challenge to Facebook, she's had various moms get in touch expressing interest in trying it out for themselves.
