TikTok has announced changes to default settings for teenagers and will introduce more parental controls in its Family Pairing function.
In a statement, TikTok's head of trust and safety, Cormac Keenan, says the Chinese-owned video-hosting service will roll out the changes in coming weeks.
"Every account belonging to a user below [the age of] 18 will automatically be set to a 60-minute daily screen time limit," the statement read.
"While there's no collectively-endorsed position on the 'right' amount of screen time — or even the impact of screen time more broadly — we consulted the current academic research and experts from the Digital Wellness Lab at Boston Children's Hospital in choosing this limit."
Once teenagers reach the 60-minute limit, they'll be prompted to enter a passcode in order to continue watching.
However, teens can opt out of the 60-minute default. If they do so, they'll be prompted to set a daily limit if they spend more than 100 minutes on TikTok a day, but that will not be compulsory.
Children under the age of 13 will need a parent or guardian to set a passcode that the parent will need to enter in order to let their children watch for an additional 30 minutes.
There'll also be several new features added to Family Pairing:
- Custom daily screen time limits
- A screen time dashboard which will give summaries of time spent on the app
- Parents will be able to set a schedule to mute notifications for their teens.
TikTok will also introduce new screen time controls for everyone using the service, with a pop-up reminding users when it's time to log off.
Digital wellbeing researcher and author Dr Kristy Goodwin welcomed the changes.
"The digital dilemma that parents are facing is how much screen time their kids and teens are spending online," Dr Goodwin said.
"And, I think, any proactive steps that social media platforms, in particular, can put in place that make this really onerous task a little bit easier are really welcome changes.
"Do I think they're going to be the silver bullet, and we're going to fix this problem? I don't. But I think they're most definitely a step in the right direction."
Dr Goodwin said the changes might even drive young people onto other platforms once the one-hour time limit on TikTok ends.
"This is on one platform. This is just on TikTok," she said.
"We know that teens, the part of their brain — the prefrontal cortex that helps them regulate their behaviour — isn't fully developed.
"So, it will be really hard for them, even with that nudge, to reconsider their behaviours and think about whether they want to spend more time online.
"When it comes to how much time kids and teens are spending online, it is impossible to prescribe what I call a precise digital dose.
"We don't have any empirical evidence that tells us there's an exact, precise amount of screen time that's healthy versus harmful, because it's a really nuanced conversation — what are they doing online? When are they using it? Where? With whom?"
Dr Goodwin is also sceptical about TikTok's motives, given the social media app is being banned on government-issued devices in North America.
"I think this could be a token gesture," she said.
"I think they're also hearing the preponderance of parent voices and people who work with families, saying this is such a big issue.
"And TikTok's algorithm works so precisely that young people literally get hooked on the platform and spend inordinate amounts of time [on the platform]."
She said parents needed to take a more active role in regulating their children's online behaviour.
"Parents need to be the co-pilot of the digital plane, not the passenger," Dr Goodwin said.
"And, as parents, we need to assume a really active role in our children and teens' digital lives and help them navigate this digital terrain in healthy and helpful ways."
