TikTok wants to help teens reduce their screen time ⌛

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TikTok is under fire from many critics, especially because of the addictive side of the platform. It is via a statement that the social network has announced a strengthening of the tools for managing screen time and enrichment of the Family Pairing mode, intended for parents.

TikTok will implement a daily limit for teenagers ⌛

According to the latest annual report from Qustodio, young people spend about two hours a day on TikTok. However, numerous studies have shown that the endless viewing of short videos is likely to create serious attention problems in young people. TikTok, which is increasingly monitored by the authorities, has therefore committed to limiting the screen time of minors.

The feature, which will set a limit of 60 minutes of daily screen time for everyone under 18, is expected to arrive within a few weeks. It will be activated by default and once the limit is reached, the teenager will have to enter his password to continue to consult the application, and then decide whether or not to extend his time on it. If they disable the default 60-minutes limit and then exceed 100 minutes of screen time in a day, they will receive a warning to set a daily limit in the settings.

Source : TikTok

The Family Pairing mode has also been enhanced with four new features :

• Personalized daily screen time limits: Parents will be able to define their teenager’s maximum daily screen time, according to the days of the week but also to their rhythm (school periods, vacations, weekends, family).
• Screen time dashboard: It will provide a summary of the time spent on the application, the number of times the teenager has opened TikTok, as well as the distribution of time spent on the platform during the day and night.
• Muting notifications: Parents will be able to mute notifications for teens. This was already the case for users under 16, who no longer receive push notifications after 9pm, and for 16 and 17 years old user accounts, whose notifications are disabled after 10pm.
• New content control tools: Parents will be able to filter videos containing words or hashtags they don’t want their teen to watch.

TikTok has not forgotten its other users. All users of the platform will be able to set their own screen time limits for each day of the week. It will also be possible to set time slots during which their notifications will be disabled. TikTok also announces the rollout of a « sleep reminder » feature to help users schedule the time they want to log off at night. A notification will then appear at that time to remind them that it’s time to leave the app.

Source : TikTok

But is it enough ? 🤔

While TikTok’s decision to take measures to limit the screen time of young people is to be welcomed, it should not be forgotten that many other problems, just as important, persist on the platform. For example, the new limit of use does not protect against harmful and toxic content present and often highlighted on the application. We can mention in particular the challenges endangering the physical or psychological health of users. Moreover, TikTok is the target of multiple investigations by the European Commission, concerning the use of user data.

What do you think of this announcement from TikTok? Do you use the application? If so, will you consider setting a daily limit? We’re waiting for you in the comments to talk about it.

Source : TikTok