(Abdul–Rahman Oladimeji Bello, Headline USA) Popular Chinese social media app TikTok has announced its plan to reduce the screen time of users under the age of 18 to 1 hour with new features that will prompt younger users to enter a passcode once they reach the time limit.
Worthy of note is that the users can still disable the passcode feature, The Verge reported. However, they must not spend over 100 minutes on the app a day. If this happens, they’ll have to set a new limit.
According to TikTok, the passcode prompts will help reduce screen time significantly. The company noted that usage dropped by up to 234% in the first month of testing the feature.
The Chinese spy app revealed that it consulted experts before deciding the appropriate time limit.
“While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’, or even the impact of screen time more broadly,” said TikTok’s Head of Trust and Safety Cormac Keenan. “We recognize that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently.”
TikTok is also upgrading its Family Pairing feature. Parental control will allow a guardian or parent to link their TikTok account to that of their wards. With this, they’ll be able to set custom limits on the child’s account. Parents will be able to decide how long their wards will be able to use the app.
In addition, the Family Pairing feature will also grant guardians access to TikTok’s screen time dashboard. This will allow them to see the breakdown of how much time the child is spending on TikTok. It will also detail the child’s most active times on the app.
TikTok has come under intense criticism in the U.S. for its ties to the communist China regime, with a growing number of states banning the app from government-owned devices.
