Instagram & Facebook care about your time
Earlier this month facebook/instagram announced its release of an “activity dashboard”. This new feature is designed to help users be aware of the time they’re spending on the app. Featuring daily reminders, notification limits, and time-tracker.
Users will be able to set reminders/limits of there use. For example, after 25 minutes on facebook the app will give you an alert that your time is up. Its up to you to decide if your done on the app or continue. It is not a “hard-stop” reminder.
“We developed these tools based on collaboration and inspiration from leading mental health experts and organizations, academics, our own extensive research and feedback from our community. We want the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram to be intentional, positive and inspiring. Our hope is that these tools give people more control over the time they spend on our platforms and also foster conversations between parents and teens about the online habits that are right for them.”
I think these new features are a great idea. Social media is a great thing but being present and in the moment should take priority. Its all to easy to get mindlessly scrolling through feeds.
Because social media is so prominent, its important to remind our up-coming generations to live life. Stop watching videos of people skydiving and go do it! Teaching kids time-management and engaging in real life is even more important now with the continuous growth of social media.
I think these features are a step in the right direction and show the integrity of these apps. They care about their users and want to create meaningful conversation on and off the app.
Facebooks Blog Post-