Sivert Klefsaas is $1,800 richer, and all it took was for him to keep off of social media during most of his teenage decades.

When the Minnesota resident was 12, his mother, Lorna Goldstrand Klefsaas, instructed him if he didn’t use social media for the next 6 several years, she would give him $1,800 on his 18th birthday. At that time, Sivert had only downloaded Snapchat and deleted it immediately after a working day, so he happily took her up on the provide. “I believed it was great,” he informed CNN.

Sivert held up his end of the deal, and on his 18th birthday on Saturday, his mom introduced him with $1,800. With no the distraction of social media, Sivert instructed CNN, he was equipped to target far more on sports activities and obtaining great grades, although also staying away from “all the unnecessary drama that was on there.”

He is not confident still what he’ll shell out his cash on, but Sivert did determine out how to split his social media dry spell: he received an Instagram account. There is “definitely a studying curve,” he explained. “I see my friends fly by way of their social media applications and I can’t do that really nevertheless.”

Lorna is happy her son appears to have a “diverse viewpoint” on social media than he could possibly have had or else. “We are certainly not versus social media, but it is the wholesome employing of it,” she explained to CNN. “It’s about not permitting by yourself get weighed down by it, or addicted to it, or impacted by things that folks article.”