Social media addicts, rejoice: there is a new way to track and limit the amount of time you spend on Facebook and Instagram. According to The Verge, these new features will be debuting around the world by the end of August, giving you the opportunity to see exactly how much time you spend on social media each day, and set daily limits for yourself on each app.
Ameet Ranadive, an Instagram representative who leads a team focused on user experience, told The Verge, “We want these tools to be widely available to the whole community, and to anyone that would benefit from using them.”
According to Estimates, approximately 210 million people suffer from internet and social media addictions, so this feature could potentially be helpful to individuals trying to kick those bad habits. Developers of the program are hoping that it will help users become more mindful of their time on social media, and that it will ultimately improve user experience. It will also give you the opportunity to temporarily disable push notifications – a tool that could be helpful during a big test or an important meeting.
Although there is some concern that this decision could backfire and reduce usage of Facebook and Instagram, the companies have chosen to move forward with it since so many users have requested this feature. The companies hope that this will help users feel more in control of their relationship with social media. Acknowledging the potential loss of users’ attention, Ranadive described this as, “…something that’s important for the community, and something we want to invest in.”
Plus, given how some social media habits can have a negative effect on your mental health, it doesn’t hurt to be in the know about what your online vices are.
If you aren’t interested in learning how much time you spend on social media, or don’t want Facebook and Instagram to have access to this information, don’t despair —the feature is entirely optional. But hopefully most users will consider trying it, and see how much of a difference setting limits on social media can make in their lives.