Instagram, a photo-sharing app owned by Meta Platforms Inc is encouraging users to take a break. The firm fights charges that too much time spent on its social networks is harming youngsters’ mental health. Individuals spend a lot of time looking at a certain topic on Instagram. Now they can opt to see pop-up notifications suggesting they check into other topics.
Instagram said in a blog post on Tuesday that users can choose to be reminded to take a break after spending 10, 20, or 30 minutes on the platform. Instagram’s head of well-being and safety, Vaishnavi J, said in an interview that the platform will then advise users of alternatives to social media. Alternatives like going for a walk or taking a series of deep breaths.
“When you’ve been spending a long period of time — 20 minutes for example being a fairly long period of time — it is very valuable for you to then get a little notification reminding you to take a break,” she said. “You may not feel like you’ve been spending that much time on the app because you’ve been doing five or six different things in those 20 minutes.”
Instagram faces criticism
Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri is slated to testify before a Senate subcommittee investigating children’s safety on social media on Wednesday. Following a Wall Street Journal series earlier this year and other pieces from a consortium of media organizations based on internal papers leaked by Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen, Instagram has been under increasing criticism for its effects on underage users. Some of the papers revealed fresh information about the influence of Instagram on adolescent body image, sleep, and anxiety.
A coalition of state attorneys general in the US announced a probe into Instagram’s efforts to attract minors and young adults last month.
In November, Instagram said that it had started testing the take-a-break feature. The business didn’t provide any figures on how many people exit the app after receiving a warning. But it did say that once kids switch on the function, they leave it for more than 90 percent of the time.
The business also aims to release a set of features in March. It will provide parents with additional insight into their teens’ use of the app. Teenagers will be able to give their parents, guardians permission to observe the time they spend on Instagram. Also, to establish time limitations. Teens can also alert their parents if they notify someone of breaking the app’s restrictions.
Instagram has said that it is testing a new setting. It prohibits users from tagging or discussing minors who do not follow them, including their content in video reels. Instagram is looking into new ways to limit the amount of potentially hazardous or sensitive content that kids can access.
Instagram app for kids
“Meta is attempting to shift attention from their mistakes by rolling out parental guides, use timers, and content control features that consumers should have had all along,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee. “This is a hollow ‘product announcement’ in the dead of night that will do little to substantively make their products safer for kids and teens.”
Instagram and Facebook don’t officially allow users under the age of 13. Meta had hoped to create an Instagram app for preteens that would require parental permission to join. It would also be ad-free and have age-appropriate restrictions and features.
Meta stated in September that it will put its plans for a kids’ Instagram app on hold. Thereby, citing the need for additional time to consult with experts, parents, and policymakers. Employees working on the kids’ app, according to Instagram’s J, have shifted their focus to other projects. Their focus is on projects such as teen-guardian relationships and age verification.
