The platform is urging young users to touch grass
Scrolling through slime videos and sludge content on TikTok may be the only thing distracting you from impending planetary doom, but it also might be rotting your brain. With that in mind, the platform has announced a daily screen time limit for young users.
Over the next few weeks, every account belonging to a user under the age of 18 will automatically be given a 60-minute daily time limit. Limiting screen time to one hour is based on what’s considered healthy by experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, and is part of a broader push to make the video app safer for its young users (although, needless to say, there are plenty of problems yet to be addressed).
In a statement on the changes, shared March 1, TikTok’s head of trust and safety, Cormac Keenan, says that they will help create a digital experience that “bring[s] joy and play[s] a positive role in how people express themselves, discover ideas, and connect”.
But won’t users under the age of 18 just lie about their age, to get around the screen time cap? Well, they won’t even need to, because they’ll actually be able to bypass the 60-minute limit by simply entering a passcode when prompted. So what’s the point? The idea is that users will have to make an “active decision” to extend their time spent scrolling through Family Guy memes and true crime conspiracies.
Research cited by TikTok states that being more aware of how long you’re spending on social media can help you make more informed decisions (about, for example, logging off and touching grass). A similar prompt sent out by TikTok last year apparently helped increase the use of screen time-limiting tools by 234 per cent. Now, all under-18s will also be getting a weekly recap of their screen time, alongside other measures such as the option to mute notifications.
For now, the changes are focused on users under 18, but the platform says that everyone will soon be able to set similar screen time limits and sleep reminders, to remind them not to scroll into the early hours. On the plus side? There might just be enough of our brains left to save. The downside? We could be forced to face the crushing weight of reality once again.