“Facebook And Instagram Just Introduced A Time-Tracking Feature”

Chriseanna Mitchell
Sep 3, 2018 · 2 min read

This is a review on the new “activity dashboard” that Facebook has announced, which will help users manage their time better and monitor long they are on social media. It also has daily reminders, notification limits, and a time-tracker. They collaborated with mental health experts on how to help people use social media more positively and actively. The dashboard also allows user to set time limits for themselves. After the time runs out, the app sends a notification, but it does not stop the usage automatically. It is ultimately the user’s decision to leave the app. This encourages discipline and a form of self-satisfaction when the time goal is achieved.

According to their blogpost, Facebook has made the decision to launch this dashboard on their apps after hearing feedback and concerns from the online community. Many parents complain about their teens being attached to the social media sites and many adults get sucked into the endless spiral that is social media.

I personally think it is a great idea and very thoughtful of Facebook to do something like this. It can be hard to focus and accomplish the necessary tasks for success when there are so many screens, stories, etc. vying for our attention. Also, I completely agree with the results they concluded after all of their research. Many people do not actively use social media and focus solely on it. Whenever they are not posting, most people I know just passively scroll through their feeds. This is done while talking to others or in classes. Most of the time their attention is divided by the social media and whatever else they are doing. I hope other social medias follow what Facebook has started.

Link to story: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessedamiani/2018/08/01/facebook-and-instagram-just-introduced-a-time-tracking-feature/#31d035bb7e3c

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