"Ding ding" the alarm clock rang day after day, and once again, I dragged my weary body to quickly freshen up and head to my class location on the first day of winter break. Similar to the previous semester, I was stuck in a monotonous routine, shuttling back and forth from eight in the morning until nine at night, cycling through these dull days.

"Welcome to the live stream!" I opened my blurry eyes, feeling a surge of resentment as my rare day without classes was disturbed by the noise of a gaming live stream. Wait, who is it? I suddenly woke up; does someone in our house watch gaming livestreams? I looked at the clock, 7:28 AM. Filled with curiosity, I walked out of my room, searching for the source of the sound. When I reached the living room, I saw my younger brother lying on the couch, watching something on his phone. "Double kill!" he exclaimed. "So, it's you! Where's Mom?" I asked. "She had something to do and went out this morning," he lazily replied. I stared at him closely, pondering when he started watching gaming livestreams. I remember he rarely used his phone before, let alone playing games. With these doubts in mind, I returned to my room and dozed off again under the blanket...

When I woke up, it was already noon, and the bright sun was shining high. I went to the living room again, only to find my brother still sitting there, fixated on his phone, with the same posture as a few hours ago. "Stop looking at the phone, let's have lunch," I said with some annoyance. Slowly chewing my rice, I observed my brother sitting across from me, his eyes never leaving the screen. I couldn't help but sigh, wishing he could direct such intense focus on other things. "Give me your phone," I broke the silence. Without waiting for his response, I took his phone, and checked the screen time, and a shocking number caught my eye: almost seven hours of phone usage every day for the past week. I looked at him meaningfully, returned the phone, and went back to my room.

Sitting at my desk, I scratched my head in frustration, pondering when he started using electronic devices so much. I recalled the past few months, during which Covid-19 struck again, and everyone, including kids, had to work and study from home. Students needed electronic devices for online classes. Even with the need for electronic devices, my mother was very strict about my brother's usage during class hours. Outside of class, he was allowed only 30 minutes of TV time each week and no phone usage. During his free time, he developed various hobbies like drawing, playing the piano, badminton, and more. However, before the final exams, my mother set a requirement for his grades, and if he met it, he would be allowed to take care of his phone during the holiday. After a semester of hard work, my brother's final exam scores did make my mother very satisfied, so he gained the reasonable privilege of managing his phone.

Having the freedom to manage his phone didn't answer my questions, though. What was so magical about the phone that made him spend so much time on it daily? As a high school student, I had the freedom to manage my phone, yet my daily usage was within 2-4 hours. My brother's unusual behavior intrigued me, and I became curious about the apps he used on his phone.

In the blink of an eye, winter break was coming to an end. On the last weekend before returning to school, my brother seemed unchanged, still fixated on his phone every moment, with no emotion showing on his face. "Can you tell me what you watch on your phone every day, something that keeps you so engrossed?" "TikTok! There are many game tutorials there, and they help me improve my gaming skills significantly!" he replied excitedly. "Do you really enjoy playing games that much? Are they that fascinating?" I continued to ask. As I finished this sentence, I noticed a momentary hesitation in his expression, and he replied, "Well, they're alright, I guess." I watched him thoughtfully, sensing a subtle change in his mood. This change unexpectedly eased my feelings.

I opened my computer and quickly browsed information about phone usage time and the factors behind it. When I clicked on one of the web pages, a conspicuous phrase caught my attention: social anxiety. Like finding a clue, I delved into researching this concept of social anxiety. "It's a phenomenon produced by the interaction of the cerebral cortex and the amygdala in the brain. The cortex generates anxiety based on our thoughts, and the amygdala reacts to it..." I read attentively. "People make tremendous efforts to adapt to a group..." My pupils dilated as a picture formed in my mind—my brother watching gaming tutorials, his hesitant responses to my questions. All these pieces seemed to fit the puzzle of my brother's current state, and I wondered if he was experiencing social anxiety, being fearful and anxious about his relationship with classmates.

I recalled my brother's recent behavior and analyzed his state in relation to "social anxiety." Finally, I began to form a hypothesis about my brother; he was afraid and anxious about fitting in with his classmates.

The next day, after school, I sat next to my brother, who was still absorbed in his phone on the couch. I straightforwardly asked, "Brother, are you not really fond of playing games? Are you just doing it because you see your classmates doing it too?" He put down his phone, and looked up at me, and from his eyes, I saw innocence, confusion, and an indescribable sense of disappointment. "How did you know, sis?" he asked. "Well, I am your sister, you know. I can sense what you're thinking. Tell me about it, what's going on?" I asked, giving him a sideways glance. "Our classmates created a gaming group. They gather to play games together and discuss gaming during breaks, even my best friend." "So, you wanted to join them, and that's why you started playing games, even though you never played them before?" "Yeah, that's right. So, I started watching lots of gaming videos every day to quickly improve my gaming skills, but it's really tiring. At first, I thought games were novel and fun, but later, I realized they're not enjoyable at all, and they're exhausting."

Silence enveloped us once again. My hypothesis had been confirmed, and what should have been an achievement became a heavy burden in my brother's heart, causing discomfort. We sat side by side, and he didn't reach for his phone again but remained quiet. I stood up and brought a book from the study, handing it to him and saying softly, "You don't have to change your own hobbies just because of your classmates. I support your point of view. Why don't you organize a group yourself, but it could be an interest group for reading?" I looked at him encouragingly. His eyes visibly lit up, and he said, "Yes, I'll give it a try!" "So, you can use the time you spent on the phone for other things! Reading, drawing—there are so many things much more interesting than playing games. Now, go get some rest." He looked at me, nodding earnestly, got up, and walked happily into his room.

I once again opened his phone, placed it on the desk, and checked the screen time. I gave a bitter smile; it was still around seven hours every day. I gently put down the phone and walked to the balcony. The night had already fallen, and the street was bustling with cars, their lights illuminating the whole city. I stared at the street absentmindedly, recalling my brother's actions tonight. After a long while, I began to marvel at how quickly the world changed and sent my heartfelt blessings, hoping that there would always be poetry and distant dreams in my brother's heart.