TikTok has announced the launch of two new practical tools, in the coming weeks, as a part of its digital wellbeing mission to make it easier for its growing community of users to manage the time they spend on the entertainment platform in a single sitting and enable regular screen time breaks, thereby remaining in full control of their TikTok experience.
According to Global Media Insight, the average daily time spent on the internet in the UAE is seven hours and 24 minutes per person, which is why a new screen time dashboard will give TikTok’s creative community data about how much time they are spending on the platform, with summaries on the daily time they’re spending using the platform, the number of times they opened the app, and a breakdown of daytime and night-time usage available at all times. Users can also opt for weekly notifications to review their dashboard and monitor the time spent in a single sitting.
These prompts will remind TikTok users to take a break after a certain amount of uninterrupted screen time, which they can set as per their choice and convenience.
TikTok will also introduce weekly digital well-being prompts for younger members of the community. When users aged between 13 and 17 spends more than 100 minutes on the app in a single day, he or she will get a reminder from TikTok of using the screen time limit tool the next time they open the app.
The new features are in line with TikTok’s goal to promote a safe and positive experience for all its users and ensure that the entertainment platform is equipped to offer the best possible viewing choices for the TikTok community.
The entertainment platform is focused on delivering digital experiences that bring joy, entertainment, and enrichment to our community. Part of this includes ensuring that the community have a positive relationship with their devices and allowing them to be more in control of their experiences. This is why TikTok is taking a number of steps today to help support our community’s digital well-being as they create, including the new screen time management feature that allows users restrict the uninterrupted time that can be spent on the app.
TikTok is supporting the rollout of the new screen time management tools and encouraging its community in thinking about their digital habits by publishing a new guide, titled “How can I reflect on my digital well-being with my family and friends?” on the platform’s Safety Centre. The guide encourages the TikTok community to reflect more holistically about how they spend their time online – whether on TikTok or elsewhere – and how it makes them feel as they set the boundaries that best suit them.
The tools are part of TikTok’s continuous efforts to nurture its growing diverse global community and develop new tools and initiatives that support an environment where its users can create a customised experience, express themselves and have joy.
Commenting on the well-being updates, Dr. Hamed AlNeyadi, the director executive government relations of IAT/ACTVET and member of TikTok MENA Safety Advisory Council, said “It’s essential that TikTok provides tools to control our time on the platform, this will increase the productivity time for the user and improve their physical and mental health. By providing options for parents to manage and control screentime for their children on TikTok, it helps to promote healthy use and proactively assists the user to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”
Sharing her insights on parenting and online activity, Dr. Lamar Kanafani, MA LMFT licensed marriage & family therapist and supervisor said, “It’s already widely known what the negative mental and physical effects are of screen-time-overuse. So, in my eyes, the first step to helping your kids find the right balance is to get yourselves better disciplined with screen time as well, model it, and put in the initial and ongoing effort to engage physically with your kids. The quality of your relationship with them is key.
Launching within the coming weeks, the new features will be found in the Privacy and Settings, under the section Digital Wellbeing.
