No coincidence here but the day before Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is due to appear before US regulators they have launched a new feature that will let parents see how much time children spend scrolling Instagram — and set limits — as well as alerting teenagers to take a break. Aptly titled ‘Take A Break,’ Mosseri is probably hoping this will dial down the heat on worries about children and Instagram.
Users can turn on the feature in “Settings” and select if they want to be alerted after using the platform for 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes. They’ll then get a full-screen alert telling them to close out of the app, suggesting they ‘take a deep breath, write something down, check a to-do list or listen to a song.’
For anyone who has or knows a teenager, they know this is just wishful thinking. And for adults, they’ll keep on down the rabbit hole, only they’ll feel more guilty about it.