Policymakers and advocacy groups have long been concerned about the use of social media by young users, which has led social media companies to implement various control measures to regulate user behavior; nonetheless, the majority of these efforts appear insufficient hence calling for additional measures.
In attempts to limit screen time and enhance the well-being of its young users, TikTok has unveiled several new features through which users under 18 years will have a daily screen time limit of 60 minutes automatically imposed upon them.
Those surpassing the set threshold will be prompted to enter a password allowing them to watch beyond the limit. However, those watching for more than 100 minutes per day will be requested to establish their new screen time limit to facilitate a healthy online habit.
While determining the best restriction time, TikTok claims to have consulted specialists from the Digital Well-being Lab at the Boston Children’s Hospital and recent academic research. While there is no consensus on how much screen time is too much or the general effects of screen time, teens frequently need extra supervision when they begin to explore the online world on their own, according to Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok.
Following the successful first month of testing, TikTok reported that these reminders raised the utilization of its screen time control tools by 234 percent. With these features, teens will also receive weekly messages summarizing their screen usage and letting them know how much time they’ve spent using the app for conscious decision-making on exceeding the recommended limit.
In addition, Family Pairing, TikTok’s adjustable parental restrictions that allow parents to link their TikTok account to a younger user’s account, is getting four new features. Personalized limits can be used to change restrictions on specific days, such as the day of the week or school holidays. Besides, parents or caregivers will have access to the screen time dashboard to know how much time was spent on the app besides the ability to filter videos with words or hashtags they do not want their children to watch.
While these features mainly target users under 18 years, TikTok has promised to have some of them available to all users for scheduling mute notifications and setting customized screen time limits for each day of the week.
